Kia Motors
Kia Motor Corporation (Hangul: 기아자동차 ; Hanja: 起亞自動車 , IPA: [ki.a] , literally “Kia automobile”; stylized as KIΛ), headquartered in Seoul, is South Korea’s second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over Trio.Three million vehicles in 2015. As of December two thousand fifteen [update] , the Kia Motor Corporation is minority possessed by Hyundai, which wields a 33.88% stake valued at just over $6 billion USD. Kia in turn is a minority possessor of more than twenty Hyundai subsidiaries ranging from Four.9% up to 45.37% totaling more than $8.Trio billion USD.
Contents
According to Kia Motors, the name “Kia” derives from the Sino-Korean characters ki (起, “to come out”) and a (亞, which stands for (East) Asia), it is toughly translated as “to come out of the east.”
Kia was founded in December one thousand nine hundred forty four as Kyungsung Precision Industry, a manufacturer of steel tubing and bicycle parts, eventually producing Korea’s very first domestic bicycle, the Samchully, in 1951. [1] In 1952, Kyungsung Precision Industry switched its name to Kia Industries, [Five] and later built Honda-licensed petite motorcycles (commencing in 1957), Mazda-licensed trucks (1962) and cars (1974). The company opened its very first integrated automotive assembly plant in 1973, the Sohari Plant. [6] Kia built the puny Brisa range of cars until 1981, when production came to an end after the fresh military dictator Chun Doo-hwan enforced industry consolidation. This coerced Kia to give up passenger cars and concentrate entirely on light trucks. [7] Prior to the coerced one thousand nine hundred eighty one shutdown, Kia rounded out its passenger car lineup with two other foreign models assembled under license: the Fiat one hundred thirty two [8] [9] and the Peugeot 604. [Ten] [11]
Beginning in one thousand nine hundred eighty six (when only twenty six cars were manufactured, followed by over 95,000 the next year), [12] Kia rejoined the automobile industry in partnership with Ford. Kia produced several Mazda-derived vehicles for both domestic sales in South Korea and for export into other countries. These models included the Kia Pride, based on the Mazda 121, and the Avella, which were sold in North America and Australasia as the Ford Festiva and Ford Aspire.
In 1992, Kia Motors America was incorporated in the United States. The very first Kia-branded vehicles in the United States were sold from four dealerships in Portland, Oregon, in February 1994. [ citation needed ] Since then, Kia methodically expanded one region at a time. Dealers in one thousand nine hundred ninety four sold the Sephia; and a few years later, the United States segment expanded their line with the addition of the Sportage. Over one hundred Kia dealerships existed across thirty states by 1995, selling a record 24,740 automobiles. [13]
However, during the Asian financial crisis, Kia proclaimed bankruptcy in 1997; and in one thousand nine hundred ninety eight reached an agreement with Hyundai Motor Company to diversify by exchanging ownership inbetween both companies. Hyundai Motor Company acquired 51% of the company, outbidding Ford Motor Company which had possessed an interest in Kia Motors since 1986. [14] After subsequent divestments, [15] Hyundai Motor Company wields about one third of Kia Motor Corporation. While Hyundai Motor Company remains Kia’s largest stakeholder, Kia Motor Company also retains ownership in some twenty two different Hyundai Motor Company subsidiaries. [16]
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 two thousand six as chief design officer [17] and his subsequent creation of a fresh corporate grille known as the ‘Tiger Nose’. [Eighteen] [Nineteen]
In October 2006, Kia Motors America broke ground for Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia in West Point, Georgia, indicating a $1 billion USD investment for the company. [20] Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia opened in February 2010, after Kia recorded its 15th consecutive year of enlargened U.S. market share. [21]
In August 2014, the company received international attention when Pope Francis of the Catholic Church railed in one of their compact cars, the Kia Soul, during a five-day visit to South Korea. [22] [23] The Kia Soul drew fatter attention than two other vehicles used by the Pope, their Kia Carnival and Hyundai’s Santa Fe, because it appeared in the high-profile welcoming ceremony of his arrival at the Seoul Airport on fourteen August. [24] [25]
In 2016, Kia Motors model reliability was ranked very first in the United States by J.D. Power and Associates, becoming the very first non-luxury automaker since one thousand nine hundred eighty nine to top that list. [26]
Hyundai Motor Company Edit
As of December 31, two thousand fifteen [update] , the Hyundai Motor Company possesses a 33.88% stake in Kia Motors. [27]
Likewise, as of December 31, 2015, Kia Motors is proprietor in twenty two different Hyundai companies. Its ownership percentages range from Four.9% up to 45.37%. [28]
Kia Motors Corporation Edit
Kia Motors Corporation (KMC), founded in 1944, is South Korea’s oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles and is now a subsidiary of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group. Over 1.Five million vehicles a year are produced in thirteen manufacturing and assembly operations in eight countries. These are then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering one hundred seventy two countries. Kia today has 40,000 full-time employees worldwide and annual revenues of over US$14.6 billion. Kia Motors Corporation’s brand slogan is “The Power to Surprise”. From August two thousand nine until December 2012, the company has been led by Hyoung-Keun (Hank) Lee. [29]
Kia Motors America Edit
Kia Motors America (KMA) is the American sales, marketing, and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, South Korea. KMA offers a accomplish line of vehicles through more than seven hundred fifty five dealers across the United States. For 2008, KMA recorded its 14th consecutive year of enlargened U.S. market share.
In November 2009, Kia began production at the very first U.S. Kia Motors plant, Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, in West Point. As of December 2011, the facility was building the two thousand twelve Kia Sorento crossover vehicle and the two thousand twelve Kia Optima sedan.
Kia Motors Europe Edit
Kia Motors Europe (KME) is the European sales and marketing division of Kia Motors Corporation (KMC). It has been selling cars in Europe since the very first half of 1991. In 2007, KME moved from its previous location at Hauptstrasse 185, Eschborn (near Frankfurt), to a fresh purpose-built facility adjacent to the Messe, in Frankfurt city centre.
From one thousand nine hundred ninety five to 1999, Kia produced left- and right-hand drive versions of the very first generation Sportage SUV at the Karmann factory in Osnabrück, Germany. From one thousand nine hundred ninety nine until production of the model ceased in 2003, all Sportage production reverted to South Korea.
When Kia launched in Europe during 1991, it primarily sold only the Pride supermini – a rebadged version of the late 1980s Mazda 121. It originally proved popular with buyers, but sales fell towards the end of the decade, and the end of production was ultimately announced in May 2000, with its successor — the Rio — not going on sale for another year.
By the end of 1991, Kia had sold almost 1,800 Prides in the United Kingdom. The very first total year, 1992, eyed that figure dual, and, in 1993, it enlargened again to almost Five,500 units.
The European range expanded in the spring of one thousand nine hundred ninety four when Kia began importing the larger Mentor, a range of medium-sized hatchbacks and sedans which were marketed as inexpensive and well-equipped alternatives to the likes of the Ford Escort and the Vauxhall/Opel Astra. A facelift in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine witnessed the Mentor name retained for the saloon (sedan), but the hatchback was renamed Shuma. These models remained on sale until 2004, when the newer Cerato was launched and gave Kia one of its very first serious competitors against mainstream brands.
The Clarus saloon and Sedona MPV were also launched onto the UK market during 1999, helping Kia begin its rise in popularity.
The Sportage SUV range, very first sold in 1995, has been popular across Europe, but, since 2002, Kia has gained more sales in this market thanks to the launch of the larger Sorento.
Despite Kia’s range enlargening from one car as late as one thousand nine hundred ninety three to three cars by the end of 1995, British sales actually decreased in that period, from almost Five,500 in one thousand nine hundred ninety three to less than Four,000 the following year. In 1998, Kia’s future in Britain was thrown into serious doubt when it sold less than Trio,000 of its entire range – the worst in any utter year on the British market.
Kia did not come in Europe’s large family car market until the launch of its Clarus four-door sedan in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine – a year behind schedule due to the financial difficulties that Kia was facing before it was taken over by Hyundai. This car was similar in size to the Ford Mondeo and the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, but, on its launch, was actually less expensive to buy than the smaller Concentrate and the Astra. It had a spacious interior, large boot, competitive asking price, and high equipment levels, but it had little more appeal to sway buyers away from established European brands like Ford, Vauxhall/Opel and Peugeot. Its successor, the Magentis, launched in 2001, was still nowhere near as popular as Kia might have hoped it would be, albeit with a sub-£14,000 asking price it suggested the cheapest V6-engined car in the UK, by which time it was infrequent enough for a six-cylinder car to be priced at less than £20,000.
Kia entered the MPV market in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine with the Sedona. On its launch, it was the lowest-priced, full-size people carrier on sale in the United Kingdom.
With the range expanded by 1999, sales for that year reached almost 6,400 – more than dual the previous year’s total. That annual sales figure had almost been matched in two thousand by the end of May, reflecting Kia’s growing popularity with British buyers. [30] By 2009, Kia was stiffly established as a popular brand in Britain, when sales broke the 50,000 barrier for the very first time and the brand now had a share of more than 2% in the fresh car market. The Picanto was the most popular single model with almost 17,000 sales. [31]
In late 2006, Kia opened its very first own plant in Europe at a cost of approximately EUR 1.7 billion in Žilina, Slovakia, in the village of Teplička nad Váhom, after construction inbetween October two thousand four and December 2005. It has since produced over Two.Five million units of the Kia Cee’d, Kia Sportage and Kia Venga, as well as seven types of engines. In 2016, 339,500 cars and 612,915 engines were manufactured [32] . The area of the plant is one hundred sixty six ha and Mobis Slovakia, the largest supplier, is situated right on the carmaker’s premises. As of December 31, 2016, Trio,625 employees worked in the facility, while their average age was 35. [33] The relatively low number of employees working in three shifts is related to a high degree of automation as well as high integration with Mobis Slovakia. In 2016, Kia Motors Slovakia recorded revenue of EUR Five.56 billion.
Albeit the European car market knows significant difficulties, Kia announced enlargened sales in 2013. [34]
Kia Motors Mexico Edit
The company has built a $1 billion manufacturing plant in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León, which produces 300,000 cars a year. Details of the factory, built in the city of Pesquería, were exposed in a joint press conference given by Kia Motors CEO Hyoung-Keun Lee and the President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto in Mexico City on twenty eight August 2014. The plant was expected to be ended in the very first half of 2016. [35] This factory is involved in controversies because was built on unevenly purchased land and the construction agreement was made with advantage conditions and out of the local dispositions to Kia. [36] [37]
Kia Motors India Edit
The company is planning to inject the Indian market inbetween two thousand nineteen and two thousand twenty two [38] . Kia plans to suggest three vehicles, including a mid-size SUV and a compact sedan. The company is presently planning to build a production facility on a Greenfield land in Anantpur district, Andhra Pradesh. The expected annual production capacity is 300,000 units.
Kia Defense Edit
Kia Motors has specialized in the production of military vehicles with variants and other transportation equipment and by supplying them as a foot maker of military vehicles designated by the South Korean Government since 1976, when Kia Intense Industry Co., Ltd was established. Kia is presently designing a Kaiser Jeep M715-type vehicle named the KM450 for the South Korean Army on license from the U.S. Government. Kia is also the proprietor of the former ex-Asia Motors factory at Gwangju.
Most of Kia’s main plant locations are in South Korea:
In-house Proving ground location
Kia also has facilities in China, Mexico, Slovakia, the United States and Vietnam:
Beginning in two thousand six Kia identified design as its “core future growth engine” – leading to the two thousand six hiring of Peter Schreyer and to the two thousand five hiring Tom Kearns as Chief Design Officer. [17] Schreyer had previously worked at Audi (designing the Audi TT) and Volkswagen and had won the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany. [40] Kearns had previously worked at Cadillac as Chief Design Officer and was responsible for influencing Cadillac’s direction of hard angles and acute lines within their design. [41]
Schreyer has since been central to a finish restyling of Kia’s lineup, [42] overseeing design activities at Kia’s design centers in Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and the Namyang Design Center in South Korea. [43]
With the Kee concept vehicle, shown at the Frankfurt Motor Showcase in 2007, [44] Kia introduced a fresh corporate grille [44] to create a recognizable ‘face’ for the brand. Known as the Tiger Nose, Schreyer indicated he wished “a powerful visual signal, a seal, an identifier. The front of a car needs this recognition, this expression. A car needs a face and I think the fresh Kia face is strong and distinctive. Visibility is vital and that face should instantly permit you to identify a Kia even from a distance.” [44] Schreyer described how the Kia Tiger Nose came to be as he explained, “I was just working on the car and just thinking about different possibilities, and all of a sudden I found it.” [45] Commenting on the fresh signature grille in 2009: “From now on, we’ll have it on all our cars”. [46] Kia has since featured the Tiger Nose on all of their vehicles, ranging from the compact Kia Soul, on to the edgy fresh design of the Kia Optima, and to the larger SUV, the Kia Sorento.
Kia cars have won the International Car of the Year award every year since 2013. [47]
In late 2012, Kia Motors was coerced to admit error in inflating its United States Environmental Protection Agency mileage claims and had to reduce its fuel economy claims in the U.S. by about three percent across the board and to suggest compensation to previous vehicle buyers. [48]
Nuevo León plant Edit
From two thousand fourteen Kia Motors was involved in controversies in Mexico due to alleged irregularities in the construction of one of its plants in the municipality of Pesquería, Nuevo León. The construction of the plant was done in irregularly purchased landslide, and the agreement inbetween Kia Motors Mexico and the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, then headed by Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz, was signed with advantageous conditions to the South Korean company (like tax exemptions for twenty years when the standard are Five) and with tax incentives higher than those permitted by Mexican laws extended to the Mexican providors of Kia. [36] A copy of the utter agreement was published in Facebook by current Nuevo León governor, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, as a part of a prosecution case to Medina [49] and he proclaimed that the signed agreement with his predecessor will be cancelled. [50] A fresh agreement was reached with Rodriguez’s administration on June, 2016. [51]
Derived from the case, former governor Medina de la Cruz and other thirty officials of the former state administration were investigated by an anti-corruption prosecutor for alleged embezzlement, improper exercise of public functions and harm to Nuevo León State assets. [52] [53] Medina was placed in custody for this case on January 26, 2017, among other that he is involved. [52]
Kia Motors
Kia Motors
Kia Motor Corporation (Hangul: 기아자동차 ; Hanja: 起亞自動車 , IPA: [ki.a] , literally “Kia automobile”; stylized as KIΛ), headquartered in Seoul, is South Korea’s second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over Three.Three million vehicles in 2015. As of December two thousand fifteen [update] , the Kia Motor Corporation is minority possessed by Hyundai, which possesses a 33.88% stake valued at just over $6 billion USD. Kia in turn is a minority holder of more than twenty Hyundai subsidiaries ranging from Four.9% up to 45.37% totaling more than $8.Three billion USD.
Contents
According to Kia Motors, the name “Kia” derives from the Sino-Korean characters ki (起, “to come out”) and a (亞, which stands for (East) Asia), it is toughly translated as “to come out of the east.”
Kia was founded in December one thousand nine hundred forty four as Kyungsung Precision Industry, a manufacturer of steel tubing and bicycle parts, eventually producing Korea’s very first domestic bicycle, the Samchully, in 1951. [1] In 1952, Kyungsung Precision Industry switched its name to Kia Industries, [Five] and later built Honda-licensed petite motorcycles (embarking in 1957), Mazda-licensed trucks (1962) and cars (1974). The company opened its very first integrated automotive assembly plant in 1973, the Sohari Plant. [6] Kia built the petite Brisa range of cars until 1981, when production came to an end after the fresh military dictator Chun Doo-hwan enforced industry consolidation. This coerced Kia to give up passenger cars and concentrate entirely on light trucks. [7] Prior to the coerced one thousand nine hundred eighty one shutdown, Kia rounded out its passenger car lineup with two other foreign models assembled under license: the Fiat one hundred thirty two [8] [9] and the Peugeot 604. [Ten] [11]
Embarking in one thousand nine hundred eighty six (when only twenty six cars were manufactured, followed by over 95,000 the next year), [12] Kia rejoined the automobile industry in partnership with Ford. Kia produced several Mazda-derived vehicles for both domestic sales in South Korea and for export into other countries. These models included the Kia Pride, based on the Mazda 121, and the Avella, which were sold in North America and Australasia as the Ford Festiva and Ford Aspire.
In 1992, Kia Motors America was incorporated in the United States. The very first Kia-branded vehicles in the United States were sold from four dealerships in Portland, Oregon, in February 1994. [ citation needed ] Since then, Kia methodically expanded one region at a time. Dealers in one thousand nine hundred ninety four sold the Sephia; and a few years later, the United States segment expanded their line with the addition of the Sportage. Over one hundred Kia dealerships existed across thirty states by 1995, selling a record 24,740 automobiles. [13]
However, during the Asian financial crisis, Kia proclaimed bankruptcy in 1997; and in one thousand nine hundred ninety eight reached an agreement with Hyundai Motor Company to diversify by exchanging ownership inbetween both companies. Hyundai Motor Company acquired 51% of the company, outbidding Ford Motor Company which had wielded an interest in Kia Motors since 1986. [14] After subsequent divestments, [15] Hyundai Motor Company possesses about one third of Kia Motor Corporation. While Hyundai Motor Company remains Kia’s largest stakeholder, Kia Motor Company also retains ownership in some twenty two different Hyundai Motor Company subsidiaries. [16]
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 two thousand six as chief design officer [17] and his subsequent creation of a fresh corporate grille known as the ‘Tiger Nose’. [Legal] [Nineteen]
In October 2006, Kia Motors America broke ground for Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia in West Point, Georgia, signifying a $1 billion USD investment for the company. [20] Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia opened in February 2010, after Kia recorded its 15th consecutive year of enlargened U.S. market share. [21]
In August 2014, the company received international attention when Pope Francis of the Catholic Church railed in one of their compact cars, the Kia Soul, during a five-day visit to South Korea. [22] [23] The Kia Soul drew thicker attention than two other vehicles used by the Pope, their Kia Carnival and Hyundai’s Santa Fe, because it appeared in the high-profile welcoming ceremony of his arrival at the Seoul Airport on fourteen August. [24] [25]
In 2016, Kia Motors model reliability was ranked very first in the United States by J.D. Power and Associates, becoming the very first non-luxury automaker since one thousand nine hundred eighty nine to top that list. [26]
Hyundai Motor Company Edit
As of December 31, two thousand fifteen [update] , the Hyundai Motor Company wields a 33.88% stake in Kia Motors. [27]
Likewise, as of December 31, 2015, Kia Motors is possessor in twenty two different Hyundai companies. Its ownership percentages range from Four.9% up to 45.37%. [28]
Kia Motors Corporation Edit
Kia Motors Corporation (KMC), founded in 1944, is South Korea’s oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles and is now a subsidiary of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group. Over 1.Five million vehicles a year are produced in thirteen manufacturing and assembly operations in eight countries. These are then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering one hundred seventy two countries. Kia today has 40,000 full-time employees worldwide and annual revenues of over US$14.6 billion. Kia Motors Corporation’s brand slogan is “The Power to Surprise”. From August two thousand nine until December 2012, the company has been led by Hyoung-Keun (Hank) Lee. [29]
Kia Motors America Edit
Kia Motors America (KMA) is the American sales, marketing, and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, South Korea. KMA offers a accomplish line of vehicles through more than seven hundred fifty five dealers via the United States. For 2008, KMA recorded its 14th consecutive year of enlargened U.S. market share.
In November 2009, Kia commenced production at the very first U.S. Kia Motors plant, Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, in West Point. As of December 2011, the facility was building the two thousand twelve Kia Sorento crossover vehicle and the two thousand twelve Kia Optima sedan.
Kia Motors Europe Edit
Kia Motors Europe (KME) is the European sales and marketing division of Kia Motors Corporation (KMC). It has been selling cars in Europe since the very first half of 1991. In 2007, KME moved from its previous location at Hauptstrasse 185, Eschborn (near Frankfurt), to a fresh purpose-built facility adjacent to the Messe, in Frankfurt city centre.
From one thousand nine hundred ninety five to 1999, Kia produced left- and right-hand drive versions of the very first generation Sportage SUV at the Karmann factory in Osnabrück, Germany. From one thousand nine hundred ninety nine until production of the model ceased in 2003, all Sportage production reverted to South Korea.
When Kia launched in Europe during 1991, it originally sold only the Pride supermini – a rebadged version of the late 1980s Mazda 121. It originally proved popular with buyers, but sales fell towards the end of the decade, and the end of production was eventually announced in May 2000, with its successor — the Rio — not going on sale for another year.
By the end of 1991, Kia had sold almost 1,800 Prides in the United Kingdom. The very first utter year, 1992, eyed that figure dual, and, in 1993, it enhanced again to almost Five,500 units.
The European range expanded in the spring of one thousand nine hundred ninety four when Kia began importing the larger Mentor, a range of medium-sized hatchbacks and sedans which were marketed as inexpensive and well-equipped alternatives to the likes of the Ford Escort and the Vauxhall/Opel Astra. A facelift in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine eyed the Mentor name retained for the saloon (sedan), but the hatchback was renamed Shuma. These models remained on sale until 2004, when the newer Cerato was launched and gave Kia one of its very first serious competitors against mainstream brands.
The Clarus saloon and Sedona MPV were also launched onto the UK market during 1999, helping Kia begin its rise in popularity.
The Sportage SUV range, very first sold in 1995, has been popular across Europe, but, since 2002, Kia has gained more sales in this market thanks to the launch of the larger Sorento.
Despite Kia’s range enlargening from one car as late as one thousand nine hundred ninety three to three cars by the end of 1995, British sales actually decreased in that period, from almost Five,500 in one thousand nine hundred ninety three to less than Four,000 the following year. In 1998, Kia’s future in Britain was thrown into serious doubt when it sold less than Trio,000 of its entire range – the worst in any utter year on the British market.
Kia did not come in Europe’s large family car market until the launch of its Clarus four-door sedan in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine – a year behind schedule due to the financial difficulties that Kia was facing before it was taken over by Hyundai. This car was similar in size to the Ford Mondeo and the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, but, on its launch, was actually less expensive to buy than the smaller Concentrate and the Astra. It had a spacious interior, large boot, competitive asking price, and high equipment levels, but it had little more appeal to sway buyers away from established European brands like Ford, Vauxhall/Opel and Peugeot. Its successor, the Magentis, launched in 2001, was still nowhere near as popular as Kia might have hoped it would be, albeit with a sub-£14,000 asking price it suggested the cheapest V6-engined car in the UK, by which time it was infrequent enough for a six-cylinder car to be priced at less than £20,000.
Kia entered the MPV market in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine with the Sedona. On its launch, it was the lowest-priced, full-size people carrier on sale in the United Kingdom.
With the range expanded by 1999, sales for that year reached almost 6,400 – more than dual the previous year’s total. That annual sales figure had almost been matched in two thousand by the end of May, reflecting Kia’s growing popularity with British buyers. [30] By 2009, Kia was rigidly established as a popular brand in Britain, when sales broke the 50,000 barrier for the very first time and the brand now had a share of more than 2% in the fresh car market. The Picanto was the most popular single model with almost 17,000 sales. [31]
In late 2006, Kia opened its very first own plant in Europe at a cost of approximately EUR 1.7 billion in Žilina, Slovakia, in the village of Teplička nad Váhom, after construction inbetween October two thousand four and December 2005. It has since produced over Two.Five million units of the Kia Cee’d, Kia Sportage and Kia Venga, as well as seven types of engines. In 2016, 339,500 cars and 612,915 engines were manufactured [32] . The area of the plant is one hundred sixty six ha and Mobis Slovakia, the largest supplier, is situated right on the carmaker’s premises. As of December 31, 2016, Three,625 employees worked in the facility, while their average age was 35. [33] The relatively low number of employees working in three shifts is related to a high degree of automation as well as high integration with Mobis Slovakia. In 2016, Kia Motors Slovakia recorded revenue of EUR Five.56 billion.
Albeit the European car market knows significant difficulties, Kia announced enlargened sales in 2013. [34]
Kia Motors Mexico Edit
The company has built a $1 billion manufacturing plant in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León, which produces 300,000 cars a year. Details of the factory, built in the city of Pesquería, were exposed in a joint press conference given by Kia Motors CEO Hyoung-Keun Lee and the President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto in Mexico City on twenty eight August 2014. The plant was expected to be ended in the very first half of 2016. [35] This factory is involved in controversies because was built on unevenly purchased land and the construction agreement was made with advantage conditions and out of the local dispositions to Kia. [36] [37]
Kia Motors India Edit
The company is planning to come in the Indian market inbetween two thousand nineteen and two thousand twenty two [38] . Kia plans to suggest three vehicles, including a mid-size SUV and a compact sedan. The company is presently planning to build a production facility on a Greenfield land in Anantpur district, Andhra Pradesh. The expected annual production capacity is 300,000 units.
Kia Defense Edit
Kia Motors has specialized in the production of military vehicles with variants and other transportation equipment and by supplying them as a foot maker of military vehicles designated by the South Korean Government since 1976, when Kia Strong Industry Co., Ltd was established. Kia is presently designing a Kaiser Jeep M715-type vehicle named the KM450 for the South Korean Army on license from the U.S. Government. Kia is also the holder of the former ex-Asia Motors factory at Gwangju.
Most of Kia’s main plant locations are in South Korea:
In-house Proving ground location
Kia also has facilities in China, Mexico, Slovakia, the United States and Vietnam:
Beginning in two thousand six Kia identified design as its “core future growth engine” – leading to the two thousand six hiring of Peter Schreyer and to the two thousand five hiring Tom Kearns as Chief Design Officer. [17] Schreyer had previously worked at Audi (designing the Audi TT) and Volkswagen and had won the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany. [40] Kearns had previously worked at Cadillac as Chief Design Officer and was responsible for influencing Cadillac’s direction of hard angles and acute lines within their design. [41]
Schreyer has since been central to a finish restyling of Kia’s lineup, [42] overseeing design activities at Kia’s design centers in Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and the Namyang Design Center in South Korea. [43]
With the Kee concept vehicle, shown at the Frankfurt Motor Display in 2007, [44] Kia introduced a fresh corporate grille [44] to create a recognizable ‘face’ for the brand. Known as the Tiger Nose, Schreyer indicated he desired “a powerful visual signal, a seal, an identifier. The front of a car needs this recognition, this expression. A car needs a face and I think the fresh Kia face is strong and distinctive. Visibility is vital and that face should instantly permit you to identify a Kia even from a distance.” [44] Schreyer described how the Kia Tiger Nose came to be as he explained, “I was just working on the car and just thinking about different possibilities, and abruptly I found it.” [45] Commenting on the fresh signature grille in 2009: “From now on, we’ll have it on all our cars”. [46] Kia has since featured the Tiger Nose on all of their vehicles, ranging from the compact Kia Soul, on to the edgy fresh design of the Kia Optima, and to the larger SUV, the Kia Sorento.
Kia cars have won the International Car of the Year award every year since 2013. [47]
In late 2012, Kia Motors was compelled to admit error in inflating its United States Environmental Protection Agency mileage claims and had to reduce its fuel economy claims in the U.S. by about three percent across the board and to suggest compensation to previous vehicle buyers. [48]
Nuevo León plant Edit
From two thousand fourteen Kia Motors was involved in controversies in Mexico due to alleged irregularities in the construction of one of its plants in the municipality of Pesquería, Nuevo León. The construction of the plant was done in irregularly purchased landslide, and the agreement inbetween Kia Motors Mexico and the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, then headed by Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz, was signed with advantageous conditions to the South Korean company (like tax exemptions for twenty years when the standard are Five) and with tax incentives higher than those permitted by Mexican laws extended to the Mexican providors of Kia. [36] A copy of the total agreement was published in Facebook by current Nuevo León governor, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, as a part of a prosecution case to Medina [49] and he proclaimed that the signed agreement with his predecessor will be cancelled. [50] A fresh agreement was reached with Rodriguez’s administration on June, 2016. [51]
Derived from the case, former governor Medina de la Cruz and other thirty officials of the former state administration were investigated by an anti-corruption prosecutor for alleged embezzlement, improper exercise of public functions and harm to Nuevo León State assets. [52] [53] Medina was placed in custody for this case on January 26, 2017, among other that he is involved. [52]
Kia Motors
Kia Motors
Kia Motor Corporation (Hangul: 기아자동차 ; Hanja: 起亞自動車 , IPA: [ki.a] , literally “Kia automobile”; stylized as KIΛ), headquartered in Seoul, is South Korea’s second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over Trio.Three million vehicles in 2015. As of December two thousand fifteen [update] , the Kia Motor Corporation is minority wielded by Hyundai, which possesses a 33.88% stake valued at just over $6 billion USD. Kia in turn is a minority proprietor of more than twenty Hyundai subsidiaries ranging from Four.9% up to 45.37% totaling more than $8.Three billion USD.
Contents
According to Kia Motors, the name “Kia” derives from the Sino-Korean characters ki (起, “to come out”) and a (亞, which stands for (East) Asia), it is toughly translated as “to come out of the east.”
Kia was founded in December one thousand nine hundred forty four as Kyungsung Precision Industry, a manufacturer of steel tubing and bicycle parts, eventually producing Korea’s very first domestic bicycle, the Samchully, in 1951. [1] In 1952, Kyungsung Precision Industry switched its name to Kia Industries, [Five] and later built Honda-licensed puny motorcycles (beginning in 1957), Mazda-licensed trucks (1962) and cars (1974). The company opened its very first integrated automotive assembly plant in 1973, the Sohari Plant. [6] Kia built the puny Brisa range of cars until 1981, when production came to an end after the fresh military dictator Chun Doo-hwan enforced industry consolidation. This compelled Kia to give up passenger cars and concentrate entirely on light trucks. [7] Prior to the compelled one thousand nine hundred eighty one shutdown, Kia rounded out its passenger car lineup with two other foreign models assembled under license: the Fiat one hundred thirty two [8] [9] and the Peugeot 604. [Ten] [11]
Commencing in one thousand nine hundred eighty six (when only twenty six cars were manufactured, followed by over 95,000 the next year), [12] Kia rejoined the automobile industry in partnership with Ford. Kia produced several Mazda-derived vehicles for both domestic sales in South Korea and for export into other countries. These models included the Kia Pride, based on the Mazda 121, and the Avella, which were sold in North America and Australasia as the Ford Festiva and Ford Aspire.
In 1992, Kia Motors America was incorporated in the United States. The very first Kia-branded vehicles in the United States were sold from four dealerships in Portland, Oregon, in February 1994. [ citation needed ] Since then, Kia methodically expanded one region at a time. Dealers in one thousand nine hundred ninety four sold the Sephia; and a few years later, the United States segment expanded their line with the addition of the Sportage. Over one hundred Kia dealerships existed across thirty states by 1995, selling a record 24,740 automobiles. [13]
However, during the Asian financial crisis, Kia proclaimed bankruptcy in 1997; and in one thousand nine hundred ninety eight reached an agreement with Hyundai Motor Company to diversify by exchanging ownership inbetween both companies. Hyundai Motor Company acquired 51% of the company, outbidding Ford Motor Company which had wielded an interest in Kia Motors since 1986. [14] After subsequent divestments, [15] Hyundai Motor Company wields about one third of Kia Motor Corporation. While Hyundai Motor Company remains Kia’s largest stakeholder, Kia Motor Company also retains ownership in some twenty two different Hyundai Motor Company subsidiaries. [16]
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 two thousand six as chief design officer [17] and his subsequent creation of a fresh corporate grille known as the ‘Tiger Nose’. [Eighteen] [Nineteen]
In October 2006, Kia Motors America broke ground for Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia in West Point, Georgia, indicating a $1 billion USD investment for the company. [20] Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia opened in February 2010, after Kia recorded its 15th consecutive year of enlargened U.S. market share. [21]
In August 2014, the company received international attention when Pope Francis of the Catholic Church railed in one of their compact cars, the Kia Soul, during a five-day visit to South Korea. [22] [23] The Kia Soul drew fatter attention than two other vehicles used by the Pope, their Kia Carnival and Hyundai’s Santa Fe, because it appeared in the high-profile welcoming ceremony of his arrival at the Seoul Airport on fourteen August. [24] [25]
In 2016, Kia Motors model reliability was ranked very first in the United States by J.D. Power and Associates, becoming the very first non-luxury automaker since one thousand nine hundred eighty nine to top that list. [26]
Hyundai Motor Company Edit
As of December 31, two thousand fifteen [update] , the Hyundai Motor Company possesses a 33.88% stake in Kia Motors. [27]
Likewise, as of December 31, 2015, Kia Motors is holder in twenty two different Hyundai companies. Its ownership percentages range from Four.9% up to 45.37%. [28]
Kia Motors Corporation Edit
Kia Motors Corporation (KMC), founded in 1944, is South Korea’s oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles and is now a subsidiary of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group. Over 1.Five million vehicles a year are produced in thirteen manufacturing and assembly operations in eight countries. These are then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering one hundred seventy two countries. Kia today has 40,000 full-time employees worldwide and annual revenues of over US$14.6 billion. Kia Motors Corporation’s brand slogan is “The Power to Surprise”. From August two thousand nine until December 2012, the company has been led by Hyoung-Keun (Hank) Lee. [29]
Kia Motors America Edit
Kia Motors America (KMA) is the American sales, marketing, and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, South Korea. KMA offers a accomplish line of vehicles through more than seven hundred fifty five dealers across the United States. For 2008, KMA recorded its 14th consecutive year of enhanced U.S. market share.
In November 2009, Kia embarked production at the very first U.S. Kia Motors plant, Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, in West Point. As of December 2011, the facility was building the two thousand twelve Kia Sorento crossover vehicle and the two thousand twelve Kia Optima sedan.
Kia Motors Europe Edit
Kia Motors Europe (KME) is the European sales and marketing division of Kia Motors Corporation (KMC). It has been selling cars in Europe since the very first half of 1991. In 2007, KME moved from its previous location at Hauptstrasse 185, Eschborn (near Frankfurt), to a fresh purpose-built facility adjacent to the Messe, in Frankfurt city centre.
From one thousand nine hundred ninety five to 1999, Kia produced left- and right-hand drive versions of the very first generation Sportage SUV at the Karmann factory in Osnabrück, Germany. From one thousand nine hundred ninety nine until production of the model ceased in 2003, all Sportage production reverted to South Korea.
When Kia launched in Europe during 1991, it originally sold only the Pride supermini – a rebadged version of the late 1980s Mazda 121. It originally proved popular with buyers, but sales fell towards the end of the decade, and the end of production was ultimately announced in May 2000, with its successor — the Rio — not going on sale for another year.
By the end of 1991, Kia had sold almost 1,800 Prides in the United Kingdom. The very first total year, 1992, eyed that figure dual, and, in 1993, it enhanced again to almost Five,500 units.
The European range expanded in the spring of one thousand nine hundred ninety four when Kia began importing the larger Mentor, a range of medium-sized hatchbacks and sedans which were marketed as inexpensive and well-equipped alternatives to the likes of the Ford Escort and the Vauxhall/Opel Astra. A facelift in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine spotted the Mentor name retained for the saloon (sedan), but the hatchback was renamed Shuma. These models remained on sale until 2004, when the newer Cerato was launched and gave Kia one of its very first serious competitors against mainstream brands.
The Clarus saloon and Sedona MPV were also launched onto the UK market during 1999, helping Kia begin its rise in popularity.
The Sportage SUV range, very first sold in 1995, has been popular across Europe, but, since 2002, Kia has gained more sales in this market thanks to the launch of the larger Sorento.
Despite Kia’s range enhancing from one car as late as one thousand nine hundred ninety three to three cars by the end of 1995, British sales actually decreased in that period, from almost Five,500 in one thousand nine hundred ninety three to less than Four,000 the following year. In 1998, Kia’s future in Britain was thrown into serious doubt when it sold less than Three,000 of its entire range – the worst in any utter year on the British market.
Kia did not inject Europe’s large family car market until the launch of its Clarus four-door sedan in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine – a year behind schedule due to the financial difficulties that Kia was facing before it was taken over by Hyundai. This car was similar in size to the Ford Mondeo and the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, but, on its launch, was actually less expensive to buy than the smaller Concentrate and the Astra. It had a spacious interior, large boot, competitive asking price, and high equipment levels, but it had little more appeal to sway buyers away from established European brands like Ford, Vauxhall/Opel and Peugeot. Its successor, the Magentis, launched in 2001, was still nowhere near as popular as Kia might have hoped it would be, albeit with a sub-£14,000 asking price it suggested the cheapest V6-engined car in the UK, by which time it was infrequent enough for a six-cylinder car to be priced at less than £20,000.
Kia entered the MPV market in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine with the Sedona. On its launch, it was the lowest-priced, full-size people carrier on sale in the United Kingdom.
With the range expanded by 1999, sales for that year reached almost 6,400 – more than dual the previous year’s total. That annual sales figure had almost been matched in two thousand by the end of May, reflecting Kia’s growing popularity with British buyers. [30] By 2009, Kia was tightly established as a popular brand in Britain, when sales broke the 50,000 barrier for the very first time and the brand now had a share of more than 2% in the fresh car market. The Picanto was the most popular single model with almost 17,000 sales. [31]
In late 2006, Kia opened its very first own plant in Europe at a cost of approximately EUR 1.7 billion in Žilina, Slovakia, in the village of Teplička nad Váhom, after construction inbetween October two thousand four and December 2005. It has since produced over Two.Five million units of the Kia Cee’d, Kia Sportage and Kia Venga, as well as seven types of engines. In 2016, 339,500 cars and 612,915 engines were manufactured [32] . The area of the plant is one hundred sixty six ha and Mobis Slovakia, the largest supplier, is situated right on the carmaker’s premises. As of December 31, 2016, Three,625 employees worked in the facility, while their average age was 35. [33] The relatively low number of employees working in three shifts is related to a high degree of automation as well as high integration with Mobis Slovakia. In 2016, Kia Motors Slovakia recorded revenue of EUR Five.56 billion.
Albeit the European car market knows significant difficulties, Kia announced enhanced sales in 2013. [34]
Kia Motors Mexico Edit
The company has built a $1 billion manufacturing plant in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León, which produces 300,000 cars a year. Details of the factory, built in the city of Pesquería, were exposed in a joint press conference given by Kia Motors CEO Hyoung-Keun Lee and the President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto in Mexico City on twenty eight August 2014. The plant was expected to be finished in the very first half of 2016. [35] This factory is involved in controversies because was built on unevenly purchased land and the construction agreement was made with advantage conditions and out of the local dispositions to Kia. [36] [37]
Kia Motors India Edit
The company is planning to come in the Indian market inbetween two thousand nineteen and two thousand twenty two [38] . Kia plans to suggest three vehicles, including a mid-size SUV and a compact sedan. The company is presently planning to build a production facility on a Greenfield land in Anantpur district, Andhra Pradesh. The expected annual production capacity is 300,000 units.
Kia Defense Edit
Kia Motors has specialized in the production of military vehicles with variants and other transportation equipment and by supplying them as a foot maker of military vehicles designated by the South Korean Government since 1976, when Kia Intense Industry Co., Ltd was established. Kia is presently designing a Kaiser Jeep M715-type vehicle named the KM450 for the South Korean Army on license from the U.S. Government. Kia is also the holder of the former ex-Asia Motors factory at Gwangju.
Most of Kia’s main plant locations are in South Korea:
In-house Proving ground location
Kia also has facilities in China, Mexico, Slovakia, the United States and Vietnam:
Beginning in two thousand six Kia identified design as its “core future growth engine” – leading to the two thousand six hiring of Peter Schreyer and to the two thousand five hiring Tom Kearns as Chief Design Officer. [17] Schreyer had previously worked at Audi (designing the Audi TT) and Volkswagen and had won the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany. [40] Kearns had previously worked at Cadillac as Chief Design Officer and was responsible for influencing Cadillac’s direction of hard angles and acute lines within their design. [41]
Schreyer has since been central to a finish restyling of Kia’s lineup, [42] overseeing design activities at Kia’s design centers in Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and the Namyang Design Center in South Korea. [43]
With the Kee concept vehicle, shown at the Frankfurt Motor Demonstrate in 2007, [44] Kia introduced a fresh corporate grille [44] to create a recognizable ‘face’ for the brand. Known as the Tiger Nose, Schreyer indicated he dreamed “a powerful visual signal, a seal, an identifier. The front of a car needs this recognition, this expression. A car needs a face and I think the fresh Kia face is strong and distinctive. Visibility is vital and that face should instantly permit you to identify a Kia even from a distance.” [44] Schreyer described how the Kia Tiger Nose came to be as he explained, “I was just working on the car and just thinking about different possibilities, and all of a sudden I found it.” [45] Commenting on the fresh signature grille in 2009: “From now on, we’ll have it on all our cars”. [46] Kia has since featured the Tiger Nose on all of their vehicles, ranging from the compact Kia Soul, on to the edgy fresh design of the Kia Optima, and to the larger SUV, the Kia Sorento.
Kia cars have won the International Car of the Year award every year since 2013. [47]
In late 2012, Kia Motors was coerced to admit error in inflating its United States Environmental Protection Agency mileage claims and had to reduce its fuel economy claims in the U.S. by about three percent across the board and to suggest compensation to previous vehicle buyers. [48]
Nuevo León plant Edit
From two thousand fourteen Kia Motors was involved in controversies in Mexico due to alleged irregularities in the construction of one of its plants in the municipality of Pesquería, Nuevo León. The construction of the plant was done in irregularly purchased landslide, and the agreement inbetween Kia Motors Mexico and the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, then headed by Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz, was signed with advantageous conditions to the South Korean company (like tax exemptions for twenty years when the standard are Five) and with tax incentives higher than those permitted by Mexican laws extended to the Mexican providors of Kia. [36] A copy of the total agreement was published in Facebook by current Nuevo León governor, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, as a part of a prosecution case to Medina [49] and he announced that the signed agreement with his predecessor will be cancelled. [50] A fresh agreement was reached with Rodriguez’s administration on June, 2016. [51]
Derived from the case, former governor Medina de la Cruz and other thirty officials of the former state administration were investigated by an anti-corruption prosecutor for alleged embezzlement, improper exercise of public functions and harm to Nuevo León State assets. [52] [53] Medina was placed in custody for this case on January 26, 2017, among other that he is involved. [52]
Kia Motors
Kia Motors
Kia Motor Corporation (Hangul: 기아자동차 ; Hanja: 起亞自動車 , IPA: [ki.a] , literally “Kia automobile”; stylized as KIΛ), headquartered in Seoul, is South Korea’s second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over Three.Three million vehicles in 2015. As of December two thousand fifteen [update] , the Kia Motor Corporation is minority possessed by Hyundai, which possesses a 33.88% stake valued at just over $6 billion USD. Kia in turn is a minority holder of more than twenty Hyundai subsidiaries ranging from Four.9% up to 45.37% totaling more than $8.Trio billion USD.
Contents
According to Kia Motors, the name “Kia” derives from the Sino-Korean characters ki (起, “to come out”) and a (亞, which stands for (East) Asia), it is harshly translated as “to come out of the east.”
Kia was founded in December one thousand nine hundred forty four as Kyungsung Precision Industry, a manufacturer of steel tubing and bicycle parts, eventually producing Korea’s very first domestic bicycle, the Samchully, in 1951. [1] In 1952, Kyungsung Precision Industry switched its name to Kia Industries, [Five] and later built Honda-licensed puny motorcycles (beginning in 1957), Mazda-licensed trucks (1962) and cars (1974). The company opened its very first integrated automotive assembly plant in 1973, the Sohari Plant. [6] Kia built the petite Brisa range of cars until 1981, when production came to an end after the fresh military dictator Chun Doo-hwan enforced industry consolidation. This coerced Kia to give up passenger cars and concentrate entirely on light trucks. [7] Prior to the compelled one thousand nine hundred eighty one shutdown, Kia rounded out its passenger car lineup with two other foreign models assembled under license: the Fiat one hundred thirty two [8] [9] and the Peugeot 604. [Ten] [11]
Kicking off in one thousand nine hundred eighty six (when only twenty six cars were manufactured, followed by over 95,000 the next year), [12] Kia rejoined the automobile industry in partnership with Ford. Kia produced several Mazda-derived vehicles for both domestic sales in South Korea and for export into other countries. These models included the Kia Pride, based on the Mazda 121, and the Avella, which were sold in North America and Australasia as the Ford Festiva and Ford Aspire.
In 1992, Kia Motors America was incorporated in the United States. The very first Kia-branded vehicles in the United States were sold from four dealerships in Portland, Oregon, in February 1994. [ citation needed ] Since then, Kia methodically expanded one region at a time. Dealers in one thousand nine hundred ninety four sold the Sephia; and a few years later, the United States segment expanded their line with the addition of the Sportage. Over one hundred Kia dealerships existed across thirty states by 1995, selling a record 24,740 automobiles. [13]
However, during the Asian financial crisis, Kia announced bankruptcy in 1997; and in one thousand nine hundred ninety eight reached an agreement with Hyundai Motor Company to diversify by exchanging ownership inbetween both companies. Hyundai Motor Company acquired 51% of the company, outbidding Ford Motor Company which had wielded an interest in Kia Motors since 1986. [14] After subsequent divestments, [15] Hyundai Motor Company wields about one third of Kia Motor Corporation. While Hyundai Motor Company remains Kia’s largest stakeholder, Kia Motor Company also retains ownership in some twenty two different Hyundai Motor Company subsidiaries. [16]
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 two thousand six as chief design officer [17] and his subsequent creation of a fresh corporate grille known as the ‘Tiger Nose’. [Eighteen] [Nineteen]
In October 2006, Kia Motors America broke ground for Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia in West Point, Georgia, signifying a $1 billion USD investment for the company. [20] Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia opened in February 2010, after Kia recorded its 15th consecutive year of enlargened U.S. market share. [21]
In August 2014, the company received international attention when Pope Francis of the Catholic Church railed in one of their compact cars, the Kia Soul, during a five-day visit to South Korea. [22] [23] The Kia Soul drew thicker attention than two other vehicles used by the Pope, their Kia Carnival and Hyundai’s Santa Fe, because it appeared in the high-profile welcoming ceremony of his arrival at the Seoul Airport on fourteen August. [24] [25]
In 2016, Kia Motors model reliability was ranked very first in the United States by J.D. Power and Associates, becoming the very first non-luxury automaker since one thousand nine hundred eighty nine to top that list. [26]
Hyundai Motor Company Edit
As of December 31, two thousand fifteen [update] , the Hyundai Motor Company possesses a 33.88% stake in Kia Motors. [27]
Likewise, as of December 31, 2015, Kia Motors is possessor in twenty two different Hyundai companies. Its ownership percentages range from Four.9% up to 45.37%. [28]
Kia Motors Corporation Edit
Kia Motors Corporation (KMC), founded in 1944, is South Korea’s oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles and is now a subsidiary of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group. Over 1.Five million vehicles a year are produced in thirteen manufacturing and assembly operations in eight countries. These are then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering one hundred seventy two countries. Kia today has 40,000 full-time employees worldwide and annual revenues of over US$14.6 billion. Kia Motors Corporation’s brand slogan is “The Power to Surprise”. From August two thousand nine until December 2012, the company has been led by Hyoung-Keun (Hank) Lee. [29]
Kia Motors America Edit
Kia Motors America (KMA) is the American sales, marketing, and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, South Korea. KMA offers a finish line of vehicles through more than seven hundred fifty five dealers across the United States. For 2008, KMA recorded its 14th consecutive year of enlargened U.S. market share.
In November 2009, Kia commenced production at the very first U.S. Kia Motors plant, Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, in West Point. As of December 2011, the facility was building the two thousand twelve Kia Sorento crossover vehicle and the two thousand twelve Kia Optima sedan.
Kia Motors Europe Edit
Kia Motors Europe (KME) is the European sales and marketing division of Kia Motors Corporation (KMC). It has been selling cars in Europe since the very first half of 1991. In 2007, KME moved from its previous location at Hauptstrasse 185, Eschborn (near Frankfurt), to a fresh purpose-built facility adjacent to the Messe, in Frankfurt city centre.
From one thousand nine hundred ninety five to 1999, Kia produced left- and right-hand drive versions of the very first generation Sportage SUV at the Karmann factory in Osnabrück, Germany. From one thousand nine hundred ninety nine until production of the model ceased in 2003, all Sportage production reverted to South Korea.
When Kia launched in Europe during 1991, it primarily sold only the Pride supermini – a rebadged version of the late 1980s Mazda 121. It originally proved popular with buyers, but sales fell towards the end of the decade, and the end of production was eventually announced in May 2000, with its successor — the Rio — not going on sale for another year.
By the end of 1991, Kia had sold almost 1,800 Prides in the United Kingdom. The very first total year, 1992, eyed that figure dual, and, in 1993, it enlargened again to almost Five,500 units.
The European range expanded in the spring of one thousand nine hundred ninety four when Kia began importing the larger Mentor, a range of medium-sized hatchbacks and sedans which were marketed as inexpensive and well-equipped alternatives to the likes of the Ford Escort and the Vauxhall/Opel Astra. A facelift in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine witnessed the Mentor name retained for the saloon (sedan), but the hatchback was renamed Shuma. These models remained on sale until 2004, when the newer Cerato was launched and gave Kia one of its very first serious competitors against mainstream brands.
The Clarus saloon and Sedona MPV were also launched onto the UK market during 1999, helping Kia begin its rise in popularity.
The Sportage SUV range, very first sold in 1995, has been popular across Europe, but, since 2002, Kia has gained more sales in this market thanks to the launch of the larger Sorento.
Despite Kia’s range enhancing from one car as late as one thousand nine hundred ninety three to three cars by the end of 1995, British sales actually decreased in that period, from almost Five,500 in one thousand nine hundred ninety three to less than Four,000 the following year. In 1998, Kia’s future in Britain was thrown into serious doubt when it sold less than Three,000 of its entire range – the worst in any total year on the British market.
Kia did not come in Europe’s large family car market until the launch of its Clarus four-door sedan in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine – a year behind schedule due to the financial difficulties that Kia was facing before it was taken over by Hyundai. This car was similar in size to the Ford Mondeo and the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, but, on its launch, was actually less expensive to buy than the smaller Concentrate and the Astra. It had a spacious interior, large boot, competitive asking price, and high equipment levels, but it had little more appeal to sway buyers away from established European brands like Ford, Vauxhall/Opel and Peugeot. Its successor, the Magentis, launched in 2001, was still nowhere near as popular as Kia might have hoped it would be, albeit with a sub-£14,000 asking price it suggested the cheapest V6-engined car in the UK, by which time it was infrequent enough for a six-cylinder car to be priced at less than £20,000.
Kia entered the MPV market in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine with the Sedona. On its launch, it was the lowest-priced, full-size people carrier on sale in the United Kingdom.
With the range expanded by 1999, sales for that year reached almost 6,400 – more than dual the previous year’s total. That annual sales figure had almost been matched in two thousand by the end of May, reflecting Kia’s growing popularity with British buyers. [30] By 2009, Kia was rigidly established as a popular brand in Britain, when sales broke the 50,000 barrier for the very first time and the brand now had a share of more than 2% in the fresh car market. The Picanto was the most popular single model with almost 17,000 sales. [31]
In late 2006, Kia opened its very first own plant in Europe at a cost of approximately EUR 1.7 billion in Žilina, Slovakia, in the village of Teplička nad Váhom, after construction inbetween October two thousand four and December 2005. It has since produced over Two.Five million units of the Kia Cee’d, Kia Sportage and Kia Venga, as well as seven types of engines. In 2016, 339,500 cars and 612,915 engines were manufactured [32] . The area of the plant is one hundred sixty six ha and Mobis Slovakia, the largest supplier, is situated right on the carmaker’s premises. As of December 31, 2016, Trio,625 employees worked in the facility, while their average age was 35. [33] The relatively low number of employees working in three shifts is related to a high degree of automation as well as high integration with Mobis Slovakia. In 2016, Kia Motors Slovakia recorded revenue of EUR Five.56 billion.
Albeit the European car market knows significant difficulties, Kia announced enlargened sales in 2013. [34]
Kia Motors Mexico Edit
The company has built a $1 billion manufacturing plant in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León, which produces 300,000 cars a year. Details of the factory, built in the city of Pesquería, were exposed in a joint press conference given by Kia Motors CEO Hyoung-Keun Lee and the President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto in Mexico City on twenty eight August 2014. The plant was expected to be ended in the very first half of 2016. [35] This factory is involved in controversies because was built on unevenly purchased land and the construction agreement was made with advantage conditions and out of the local dispositions to Kia. [36] [37]
Kia Motors India Edit
The company is planning to inject the Indian market inbetween two thousand nineteen and two thousand twenty two [38] . Kia plans to suggest three vehicles, including a mid-size SUV and a compact sedan. The company is presently planning to build a production facility on a Greenfield land in Anantpur district, Andhra Pradesh. The expected annual production capacity is 300,000 units.
Kia Defense Edit
Kia Motors has specialized in the production of military vehicles with variants and other transportation equipment and by supplying them as a foot maker of military vehicles designated by the South Korean Government since 1976, when Kia Strong Industry Co., Ltd was established. Kia is presently designing a Kaiser Jeep M715-type vehicle named the KM450 for the South Korean Army on license from the U.S. Government. Kia is also the holder of the former ex-Asia Motors factory at Gwangju.
Most of Kia’s main plant locations are in South Korea:
In-house Proving ground location
Kia also has facilities in China, Mexico, Slovakia, the United States and Vietnam:
Beginning in two thousand six Kia identified design as its “core future growth engine” – leading to the two thousand six hiring of Peter Schreyer and to the two thousand five hiring Tom Kearns as Chief Design Officer. [17] Schreyer had previously worked at Audi (designing the Audi TT) and Volkswagen and had won the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany. [40] Kearns had previously worked at Cadillac as Chief Design Officer and was responsible for influencing Cadillac’s direction of hard angles and acute lines within their design. [41]
Schreyer has since been central to a finish restyling of Kia’s lineup, [42] overseeing design activities at Kia’s design centers in Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and the Namyang Design Center in South Korea. [43]
With the Kee concept vehicle, shown at the Frankfurt Motor Showcase in 2007, [44] Kia introduced a fresh corporate grille [44] to create a recognizable ‘face’ for the brand. Known as the Tiger Nose, Schreyer indicated he dreamed “a powerful visual signal, a seal, an identifier. The front of a car needs this recognition, this expression. A car needs a face and I think the fresh Kia face is strong and distinctive. Visibility is vital and that face should instantly permit you to identify a Kia even from a distance.” [44] Schreyer described how the Kia Tiger Nose came to be as he explained, “I was just working on the car and just thinking about different possibilities, and abruptly I found it.” [45] Commenting on the fresh signature grille in 2009: “From now on, we’ll have it on all our cars”. [46] Kia has since featured the Tiger Nose on all of their vehicles, ranging from the compact Kia Soul, on to the edgy fresh design of the Kia Optima, and to the larger SUV, the Kia Sorento.
Kia cars have won the International Car of the Year award every year since 2013. [47]
In late 2012, Kia Motors was compelled to admit error in inflating its United States Environmental Protection Agency mileage claims and had to reduce its fuel economy claims in the U.S. by about three percent across the board and to suggest compensation to previous vehicle buyers. [48]
Nuevo León plant Edit
From two thousand fourteen Kia Motors was involved in controversies in Mexico due to alleged irregularities in the construction of one of its plants in the municipality of Pesquería, Nuevo León. The construction of the plant was done in irregularly purchased landslide, and the agreement inbetween Kia Motors Mexico and the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, then headed by Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz, was signed with advantageous conditions to the South Korean company (like tax exemptions for twenty years when the standard are Five) and with tax incentives higher than those permitted by Mexican laws extended to the Mexican providors of Kia. [36] A copy of the total agreement was published in Facebook by current Nuevo León governor, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, as a part of a prosecution case to Medina [49] and he proclaimed that the signed agreement with his predecessor will be cancelled. [50] A fresh agreement was reached with Rodriguez’s administration on June, 2016. [51]
Derived from the case, former governor Medina de la Cruz and other thirty officials of the former state administration were investigated by an anti-corruption prosecutor for alleged embezzlement, improper exercise of public functions and harm to Nuevo León State assets. [52] [53] Medina was placed in custody for this case on January 26, 2017, among other that he is involved. [52]
Kia Motors
Kia Motors
Kia Motor Corporation (Hangul: 기아자동차 ; Hanja: 起亞自動車 , IPA: [ki.a] , literally “Kia automobile”; stylized as KIΛ), headquartered in Seoul, is South Korea’s second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over Three.Three million vehicles in 2015. As of December two thousand fifteen [update] , the Kia Motor Corporation is minority possessed by Hyundai, which wields a 33.88% stake valued at just over $6 billion USD. Kia in turn is a minority holder of more than twenty Hyundai subsidiaries ranging from Four.9% up to 45.37% totaling more than $8.Trio billion USD.
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According to Kia Motors, the name “Kia” derives from the Sino-Korean characters ki (起, “to come out”) and a (亞, which stands for (East) Asia), it is harshly translated as “to come out of the east.”
Kia was founded in December one thousand nine hundred forty four as Kyungsung Precision Industry, a manufacturer of steel tubing and bicycle parts, eventually producing Korea’s very first domestic bicycle, the Samchully, in 1951. [1] In 1952, Kyungsung Precision Industry switched its name to Kia Industries, [Five] and later built Honda-licensed petite motorcycles (commencing in 1957), Mazda-licensed trucks (1962) and cars (1974). The company opened its very first integrated automotive assembly plant in 1973, the Sohari Plant. [6] Kia built the petite Brisa range of cars until 1981, when production came to an end after the fresh military dictator Chun Doo-hwan enforced industry consolidation. This coerced Kia to give up passenger cars and concentrate entirely on light trucks. [7] Prior to the compelled one thousand nine hundred eighty one shutdown, Kia rounded out its passenger car lineup with two other foreign models assembled under license: the Fiat one hundred thirty two [8] [9] and the Peugeot 604. [Ten] [11]
Embarking in one thousand nine hundred eighty six (when only twenty six cars were manufactured, followed by over 95,000 the next year), [12] Kia rejoined the automobile industry in partnership with Ford. Kia produced several Mazda-derived vehicles for both domestic sales in South Korea and for export into other countries. These models included the Kia Pride, based on the Mazda 121, and the Avella, which were sold in North America and Australasia as the Ford Festiva and Ford Aspire.
In 1992, Kia Motors America was incorporated in the United States. The very first Kia-branded vehicles in the United States were sold from four dealerships in Portland, Oregon, in February 1994. [ citation needed ] Since then, Kia methodically expanded one region at a time. Dealers in one thousand nine hundred ninety four sold the Sephia; and a few years later, the United States segment expanded their line with the addition of the Sportage. Over one hundred Kia dealerships existed across thirty states by 1995, selling a record 24,740 automobiles. [13]
However, during the Asian financial crisis, Kia proclaimed bankruptcy in 1997; and in one thousand nine hundred ninety eight reached an agreement with Hyundai Motor Company to diversify by exchanging ownership inbetween both companies. Hyundai Motor Company acquired 51% of the company, outbidding Ford Motor Company which had possessed an interest in Kia Motors since 1986. [14] After subsequent divestments, [15] Hyundai Motor Company possesses about one third of Kia Motor Corporation. While Hyundai Motor Company remains Kia’s largest stakeholder, Kia Motor Company also retains ownership in some twenty two different Hyundai Motor Company subsidiaries. [16]
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 two thousand six as chief design officer [17] and his subsequent creation of a fresh corporate grille known as the ‘Tiger Nose’. [Legitimate] [Nineteen]
In October 2006, Kia Motors America broke ground for Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia in West Point, Georgia, indicating a $1 billion USD investment for the company. [20] Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia opened in February 2010, after Kia recorded its 15th consecutive year of enhanced U.S. market share. [21]
In August 2014, the company received international attention when Pope Francis of the Catholic Church railed in one of their compact cars, the Kia Soul, during a five-day visit to South Korea. [22] [23] The Kia Soul drew thicker attention than two other vehicles used by the Pope, their Kia Carnival and Hyundai’s Santa Fe, because it appeared in the high-profile welcoming ceremony of his arrival at the Seoul Airport on fourteen August. [24] [25]
In 2016, Kia Motors model reliability was ranked very first in the United States by J.D. Power and Associates, becoming the very first non-luxury automaker since one thousand nine hundred eighty nine to top that list. [26]
Hyundai Motor Company Edit
As of December 31, two thousand fifteen [update] , the Hyundai Motor Company wields a 33.88% stake in Kia Motors. [27]
Likewise, as of December 31, 2015, Kia Motors is holder in twenty two different Hyundai companies. Its ownership percentages range from Four.9% up to 45.37%. [28]
Kia Motors Corporation Edit
Kia Motors Corporation (KMC), founded in 1944, is South Korea’s oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles and is now a subsidiary of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group. Over 1.Five million vehicles a year are produced in thirteen manufacturing and assembly operations in eight countries. These are then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering one hundred seventy two countries. Kia today has 40,000 full-time employees worldwide and annual revenues of over US$14.6 billion. Kia Motors Corporation’s brand slogan is “The Power to Surprise”. From August two thousand nine until December 2012, the company has been led by Hyoung-Keun (Hank) Lee. [29]
Kia Motors America Edit
Kia Motors America (KMA) is the American sales, marketing, and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, South Korea. KMA offers a finish line of vehicles through more than seven hundred fifty five dealers via the United States. For 2008, KMA recorded its 14th consecutive year of enlargened U.S. market share.
In November 2009, Kia embarked production at the very first U.S. Kia Motors plant, Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, in West Point. As of December 2011, the facility was building the two thousand twelve Kia Sorento crossover vehicle and the two thousand twelve Kia Optima sedan.
Kia Motors Europe Edit
Kia Motors Europe (KME) is the European sales and marketing division of Kia Motors Corporation (KMC). It has been selling cars in Europe since the very first half of 1991. In 2007, KME moved from its previous location at Hauptstrasse 185, Eschborn (near Frankfurt), to a fresh purpose-built facility adjacent to the Messe, in Frankfurt city centre.
From one thousand nine hundred ninety five to 1999, Kia produced left- and right-hand drive versions of the very first generation Sportage SUV at the Karmann factory in Osnabrück, Germany. From one thousand nine hundred ninety nine until production of the model ceased in 2003, all Sportage production reverted to South Korea.
When Kia launched in Europe during 1991, it primarily sold only the Pride supermini – a rebadged version of the late 1980s Mazda 121. It originally proved popular with buyers, but sales fell towards the end of the decade, and the end of production was eventually announced in May 2000, with its successor — the Rio — not going on sale for another year.
By the end of 1991, Kia had sold almost 1,800 Prides in the United Kingdom. The very first total year, 1992, eyed that figure dual, and, in 1993, it enhanced again to almost Five,500 units.
The European range expanded in the spring of one thousand nine hundred ninety four when Kia began importing the larger Mentor, a range of medium-sized hatchbacks and sedans which were marketed as inexpensive and well-equipped alternatives to the likes of the Ford Escort and the Vauxhall/Opel Astra. A facelift in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine eyed the Mentor name retained for the saloon (sedan), but the hatchback was renamed Shuma. These models remained on sale until 2004, when the newer Cerato was launched and gave Kia one of its very first serious competitors against mainstream brands.
The Clarus saloon and Sedona MPV were also launched onto the UK market during 1999, helping Kia begin its rise in popularity.
The Sportage SUV range, very first sold in 1995, has been popular across Europe, but, since 2002, Kia has gained more sales in this market thanks to the launch of the larger Sorento.
Despite Kia’s range enlargening from one car as late as one thousand nine hundred ninety three to three cars by the end of 1995, British sales actually decreased in that period, from almost Five,500 in one thousand nine hundred ninety three to less than Four,000 the following year. In 1998, Kia’s future in Britain was thrown into serious doubt when it sold less than Three,000 of its entire range – the worst in any utter year on the British market.
Kia did not come in Europe’s large family car market until the launch of its Clarus four-door sedan in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine – a year behind schedule due to the financial difficulties that Kia was facing before it was taken over by Hyundai. This car was similar in size to the Ford Mondeo and the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, but, on its launch, was actually less expensive to buy than the smaller Concentrate and the Astra. It had a spacious interior, large boot, competitive asking price, and high equipment levels, but it had little more appeal to sway buyers away from established European brands like Ford, Vauxhall/Opel and Peugeot. Its successor, the Magentis, launched in 2001, was still nowhere near as popular as Kia might have hoped it would be, albeit with a sub-£14,000 asking price it suggested the cheapest V6-engined car in the UK, by which time it was uncommon enough for a six-cylinder car to be priced at less than £20,000.
Kia entered the MPV market in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine with the Sedona. On its launch, it was the lowest-priced, full-size people carrier on sale in the United Kingdom.
With the range expanded by 1999, sales for that year reached almost 6,400 – more than dual the previous year’s total. That annual sales figure had almost been matched in two thousand by the end of May, reflecting Kia’s growing popularity with British buyers. [30] By 2009, Kia was stiffly established as a popular brand in Britain, when sales broke the 50,000 barrier for the very first time and the brand now had a share of more than 2% in the fresh car market. The Picanto was the most popular single model with almost 17,000 sales. [31]
In late 2006, Kia opened its very first own plant in Europe at a cost of approximately EUR 1.7 billion in Žilina, Slovakia, in the village of Teplička nad Váhom, after construction inbetween October two thousand four and December 2005. It has since produced over Two.Five million units of the Kia Cee’d, Kia Sportage and Kia Venga, as well as seven types of engines. In 2016, 339,500 cars and 612,915 engines were manufactured [32] . The area of the plant is one hundred sixty six ha and Mobis Slovakia, the largest supplier, is situated right on the carmaker’s premises. As of December 31, 2016, Trio,625 employees worked in the facility, while their average age was 35. [33] The relatively low number of employees working in three shifts is related to a high degree of automation as well as high integration with Mobis Slovakia. In 2016, Kia Motors Slovakia recorded revenue of EUR Five.56 billion.
Albeit the European car market knows significant difficulties, Kia announced enlargened sales in 2013. [34]
Kia Motors Mexico Edit
The company has built a $1 billion manufacturing plant in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León, which produces 300,000 cars a year. Details of the factory, built in the city of Pesquería, were exposed in a joint press conference given by Kia Motors CEO Hyoung-Keun Lee and the President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto in Mexico City on twenty eight August 2014. The plant was expected to be finished in the very first half of 2016. [35] This factory is involved in controversies because was built on unevenly purchased land and the construction agreement was made with advantage conditions and out of the local dispositions to Kia. [36] [37]
Kia Motors India Edit
The company is planning to inject the Indian market inbetween two thousand nineteen and two thousand twenty two [38] . Kia plans to suggest three vehicles, including a mid-size SUV and a compact sedan. The company is presently planning to build a production facility on a Greenfield land in Anantpur district, Andhra Pradesh. The expected annual production capacity is 300,000 units.
Kia Defense Edit
Kia Motors has specialized in the production of military vehicles with variants and other transportation equipment and by supplying them as a foot maker of military vehicles designated by the South Korean Government since 1976, when Kia Mighty Industry Co., Ltd was established. Kia is presently designing a Kaiser Jeep M715-type vehicle named the KM450 for the South Korean Army on license from the U.S. Government. Kia is also the holder of the former ex-Asia Motors factory at Gwangju.
Most of Kia’s main plant locations are in South Korea:
In-house Proving ground location
Kia also has facilities in China, Mexico, Slovakia, the United States and Vietnam:
Beginning in two thousand six Kia identified design as its “core future growth engine” – leading to the two thousand six hiring of Peter Schreyer and to the two thousand five hiring Tom Kearns as Chief Design Officer. [17] Schreyer had previously worked at Audi (designing the Audi TT) and Volkswagen and had won the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany. [40] Kearns had previously worked at Cadillac as Chief Design Officer and was responsible for influencing Cadillac’s direction of hard angles and acute lines within their design. [41]
Schreyer has since been central to a accomplish restyling of Kia’s lineup, [42] overseeing design activities at Kia’s design centers in Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and the Namyang Design Center in South Korea. [43]
With the Kee concept vehicle, shown at the Frankfurt Motor Display in 2007, [44] Kia introduced a fresh corporate grille [44] to create a recognizable ‘face’ for the brand. Known as the Tiger Nose, Schreyer indicated he dreamed “a powerful visual signal, a seal, an identifier. The front of a car needs this recognition, this expression. A car needs a face and I think the fresh Kia face is strong and distinctive. Visibility is vital and that face should instantly permit you to identify a Kia even from a distance.” [44] Schreyer described how the Kia Tiger Nose came to be as he explained, “I was just working on the car and just thinking about different possibilities, and abruptly I found it.” [45] Commenting on the fresh signature grille in 2009: “From now on, we’ll have it on all our cars”. [46] Kia has since featured the Tiger Nose on all of their vehicles, ranging from the compact Kia Soul, on to the edgy fresh design of the Kia Optima, and to the larger SUV, the Kia Sorento.
Kia cars have won the International Car of the Year award every year since 2013. [47]
In late 2012, Kia Motors was compelled to admit error in inflating its United States Environmental Protection Agency mileage claims and had to reduce its fuel economy claims in the U.S. by about three percent across the board and to suggest compensation to previous vehicle buyers. [48]
Nuevo León plant Edit
From two thousand fourteen Kia Motors was involved in controversies in Mexico due to alleged irregularities in the construction of one of its plants in the municipality of Pesquería, Nuevo León. The construction of the plant was done in irregularly purchased landslide, and the agreement inbetween Kia Motors Mexico and the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, then headed by Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz, was signed with advantageous conditions to the South Korean company (like tax exemptions for twenty years when the standard are Five) and with tax incentives higher than those permitted by Mexican laws extended to the Mexican providors of Kia. [36] A copy of the utter agreement was published in Facebook by current Nuevo León governor, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, as a part of a prosecution case to Medina [49] and he proclaimed that the signed agreement with his predecessor will be cancelled. [50] A fresh agreement was reached with Rodriguez’s administration on June, 2016. [51]
Derived from the case, former governor Medina de la Cruz and other thirty officials of the former state administration were investigated by an anti-corruption prosecutor for alleged embezzlement, improper exercise of public functions and harm to Nuevo León State assets. [52] [53] Medina was placed in custody for this case on January 26, 2017, among other that he is involved. [52]