About Kia Cars
Kia Motors is South Korea's oldest automobile company and was founded on June 9, 1944. In 1952, Kia changed its name from Kyungsung Precision Industry and began to build motorcycles in 1957. They then built trucks from 1962 and car production began in 1974. The first automotive assembly plant opened in 1973, this was named the Sohari Plant to begin with they built the Brisa range of cars and did so until 1981.
1986 saw the production of only 26 cars however over 95,000 cars were produced the following year when Kia joined in a partnership with Ford Motor Company. They produced Mazda-derived cars for domestic sales in South Korea while also exporting them. Models included the Kia Pride and the Avella.
1992 saw the birth of Kia Motors America and the first Kia cars were sold from four dealerships in from 1994. Kia then further expanded their dealership and in 1994 they sold the Sephia, and then a few years later the Sportage. By 1995 Kia had expanded their dealership in America to over thirty states with a total of 100 Kia dealerships and had sold 24,740 automobiles.
During the Asian financial crisis in 1997, Kia had to declare bankruptcy. In 1998 Hyundai Motor Company gained 51% of the company. From 2005 onwards Kia has mainly focused on the European market and hired Peter Schreyer to achieve this, he was appointed in 2006 as Chief Design Officer and created the new corporate grille affectionately known as the 'Tiger Nose'.
Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia opened in February 2010 and this was after Kia had recorded an increase in its US market shares during the previous fifteen years.
Kia produces over 1.5 million cars a year in eight different countries. These cars are then distributed to 172 countries. What is staggering is that Kia employs over 42,000 people worldwide and makes over US$14.6 billion a year. Kia Motors brand slogan is "The Power to Surprise". With regards to European sales, Kia operates through Kia Motors Europe (KME) and in 2007 they moved from Eschborn near Frankfurt to a new facility in Frankfurt city centre. They manufactured both left and right-hand drive versions of the Sportage Kia SUV from 1995 to 1999. This model ceased production in 2003.
Kia started to export cars to Europe in 1991, the first car to be sold was the Pride mini-car. Although popular to begin with sales soon fell and so production of it ceased in May 2000. The Kia Rio made its debut the following year. 1994 saw the European range expand with the introduction of a range of hatchbacks and sedans. They were marketed as inexpensive and alternatives to the Ford Escort and the Vauxhall Astra. The models were sold until 2004 and were replaced by the launch of the Cerato.
Kia launched its four-door sedan, the Credos in 1999 which was very similar to the Ford Mondeo and noticeably on its launch, less expensive to buy than the Astra. Kia has now been producing cars for over 70 years and the Kia Optima was named 'International Car of the Year' in 2013.
Kia Breakers
Our Kia breakers have quoted 2,294 used Kia parts in the last 30 days. Popular part requests during that time were for replacement gearbox (manual), bumper (front), engine (diesel complete), door (rear passenger side) and bumper (rear). Quotes have ranged from £20.00 for a Kia Rio steering wheel switch to £4000.00 for a Kia Sportage CRDi GT-Line ISG engine (diesel complete). There are 1,244,411 Kias left on the road in the UK, meaning plenty of second-hand spares are available. The most requested parts for Kia in 2025 were the gearbox (manual), bumper (front), engine (diesel complete), door (rear passenger side) and bumper (rear).
All of our suppliers offer guaranteed Kia parts with nationwide delivery available.