Makes / Kia

Until its merger with Hyundai in 1998, Kia Motors Corporation was the second largest manufacturer of automobiles and trucks in South Korea. In addition to the core Korea market, Kia exports vehicles to Europe, North America, and several Asian countries. The company started out as one of Korea's giant chaebols (groups of companies), but was operating as an independent,publicly traded company in the early 1990s. It entered the world's largest potential market, the United States, in 1992 with the formation of subsidiary Kia Motors America. However, the Asian financial crisis forced Kia into receivership, until Hyundai bailed it out in 1998, obtaining 51 percent share of ownership.