Kia is a South Korean automaker headquartered in Seoul, founded in 1944 and operating as an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group — the country's second-largest carmaker, with record 2025 global sales of 3,135,803 vehicles.
The company began in May 1944 as Kyungsung Precision Industry, manufacturing steel tubing and bicycle parts, and produced South Korea's first domestically built bicycle, the Samchuly, in 1951. It took the Kia name in 1952, became Kia Motors Corporation in 1990, and dropped "Motors" from its legal name in 2021 to become Kia Corporation — a rebrand meant to signal a business wider than vehicle manufacturing.
Kia entered bankruptcy during the 1997 Asian financial crisis and was acquired the following year by Hyundai Motor Company, which took a controlling stake and remains its largest shareholder. The two now operate as affiliated companies inside Hyundai Motor Group, sharing platforms and powertrains while maintaining distinct brands, dealer networks, and design languages. Kia's separate identity rests heavily on a design turn begun in 2006, which produced the "Tiger Nose" grille now carried across the lineup.
Sales set a company record in 2025 at 3,135,803 units, up 2% year over year, with 2,584,238 of those outside South Korea and the Sportage leading model-level volume at 569,688 units. Product strategy centers on electrification, with a dedicated battery-electric lineup alongside a large hybrid business.
I drive a 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid I named 📝Symborg Swichkow — a 📝symborg being the conjunction of "symbiotic" and "organism." Its assisted-driving stack folds into my life closely enough that the car reads less like a machine I operate and more like a companion I move with.