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Kia was founded in 1944, and is South Korea's oldest car company. It later produced several Mazda models under licence, including the Pride (based on the 121) and Avella, which were sold in North America and Australasia as the Ford Festiva and Ford Aspire. The name "Kia" roughly translates as "Arising from Asia" in Korean and Chinese characters.
In 1992, Kia Motors America was incorporated in the United States. The first Kia-branded vehicles in the United States were sold from four dealerships in Portland, Oregon in February 1994. Since then, Kia expanded methodically one region at a time. Dealers in 1994 sold the Sephia, and a few years later the United States line expanded with the addition of the Sportage. Despite being taken over by Hyundai, Kia vehicles were considerably less reliable than those from competitors, and relied largely on ten-year powertrain warranties for sales. (Also see Hyundai Motor Company) Kia has consistently ranked last on J.D. Power and Associates durability index. In recent years however, Kia has worked to improve the reliabilty of their vehicles and for one year (2004), it improved to 2nd last (Last place went to Land Rover). The next year it regained its traditional title as the least durable.
Kia's troubles in 1997 helped to push South Korea into the Asian financial crisis, and it was acquired in 1998 by the Hyundai Motor Company. Hyundai resisted this move but were forced by the Korean government to take over Kia as part of the strategy to fix Korea's financial crisis.
Due to the success that came to Kia after Hyundai took over, Kia sales have improved dramatically 1998-2005. Kia announced on March 12, 2006 that they would build their first North American plant in West Point, Georgia. Kia also manufactures bicycles, some of which are sold in the United States.
