The History of Kia car maker & VIN decoder

Kia (Kia Motors Corporation) is South Korea's oldest automobile company. Its headquarters is located in Seoul. The company Kia was founded in 1944. In 1952 the company released its first Korean bicycle, and in 1957 - the first scooter.In October 1961 established the assembly production of motorcycles. In June 1973 an assembly complex for passenger cars was completed. In July 1973 production of the first Korean gasoline engine was mastered. In 1974 under license from the Japanese company Mazda was released Mazda 323. In October 1974, mass assembly of small cars Briza began. Since the late 70's, car production has become the main focus of the company.

In November 1978 company developed its own diesel engine. In April 1979, the assembly of Peugeot 604 and Fiat-132 has been mastered. In September 1983, KIA signed a partnership agreement with Mazda (Japan). In the early '80s, the firm was hit by a financial crisis. In order to survive, the bet on cheap cars was made, and in 1987 the Pride model (based on the Mazda 121) was released. This extremely cheap model (about $ 7,500) is still on sale today, but is losing ground to the onslaught of more modern cars. In March 1990 the company name was changed to KIA Motors Corporation. Thanks to the chosen policy the financial situation of the company has stabilized, and from the beginning of the 1990s Kia entered the European market. Now the company occupies the 17th place among the world's leading car manufacturers.

In October 1991 the KIA Sportage and the KIA Sephfia were first presented at the Tokyo Motor Show, and in June 1996 the Kia Sportage made a successful start in the East-West Sahara Rally. It is a cross-country vehicle with either rear or all-wheel drive. Kia Sportage has been named 'Car of the Year' for two consecutive years by IntelliChoice, an independent consumer market research company. Kia Sephia is based on the Mazda 323 of the previous generation, debuted in Europe in 1993, and in 1995 it has been restyled. In 1997, it was upgraded again. In Europe, Sephfia II went on sale only in 1998. Since 1995 the Kia Clarus (Credos/Parktown) with a streamlined body with a low drag coefficient, based on the Mazda 626 is produced. It went on sale in Europe in April 1996. In Tokyo in 1995, the Elan (Roadster) was presented, front-drive modification of English model Lotus Elan with 1.8-16V engine.

In 1996, 770 thousand vehicles were sold. Currently, the company is expanding its range of cars, including more expensive. In 1997 in Kaliningrad the plant Kia-Baltika was opened. For the first time Retona model prototype was presented in Seoul in the spring of 1997, it is a compact four-wheel drive vehicle of high cross-country ability. In December 1998, the controlling stake in KIA Motors Corp. goes to Hyundai Motors 2000. KIA enters into a strategic alliance with Hyundai and Daimler Chrysler.KIA Avella/Delta, a small car based on the Mazda-121. Until 1997, the model was called Ford Aspire in the U.S. and Ford Festiva in Asia. In 1999, a new modification appeared.

The company was hit hard by the Asian crisis in 1998, and in 1999 it was acquired by Daewoo, preserving the brand. Currently, Kia has quite an extensive family of Carens, Joice and Carnival minivans. Kia Carnival was first introduced in Europe in early 1999. The most compact Carens was shown for the first time in autumn 1999 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. In 2000, the range of Kia significantly updated - there were new cars Visto, Rio and Magentis, which allowed to bring the total number of models (families) to 13. The company has staked on a sedan Magentis, the best by the ratio of price and quality, the premiere was held at the Paris Motor Show in 2001. The Rio is actually an analogue of the Hyundai Accent. Do not forget to use Kia VIN decoder in order to avoid potential problems when buying a used car.

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