Kia's newKia Motors (Korean: 기아자동차) is South Korea's second largest automobile manufacturer, having sold over 1.6 million cars in 2009.
The word Kia derives from Korean words meaning “to arise to the world out of Asia.”
With its headquarters in Seoul, the company is partially owned by the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group. Since August 21, 2009, Hyoung-Keun (Hank) Lee leads the company's global operations from the headquarters in Seoul. North American and European arms are operated by Kia Motors America and Kia Motors Europe respectively.
Since 2005, Kia has focused on the European market and has identified "design" as its "core future growth engine"—leading to the hiring of Peter Schreyer in 2006 as Chief Design Officer and his subsequent creation of a new corporate grille known as the Tiger Nose.
Kia Motor
Kia Motors
Kia Forte 2009
Kia Motor
Kia Sidewinder
Kia Motors
Kia MotorOne of the most obvious beneficiaries of Kia’s new emphasis on styling, the new Soul has proved extremely popular since it first started popping up on roads earlier this year. Its good looks have now been awarded the President’s Award at this year’s Good Design Awards in Korea.
Last year, Kia received the President’s Award for Design at the 10th Annual Korea Design Awards and the Forte won the gold award at 2008′s PIN UP Design Awards – hosted by the Korean Association of Industrial Designers.
Both the Good Design Awards and Korea Design Awards are sponsored by the Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy and supported by the Korea Institute of Design Promotion.