After two bankruptcies, how Kia survived 80 years to turn into a global automaker

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After two bankruptcies, how Kia survived 80 years to turn into a global automaker

Published: 05 Dec. 2025, 17:31

SARAH CHEA
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung tours an exhibition marking Kia's history at its 80th anniversary ceremony event in Yongin, Gyeonggi, on Dec. 5. [KIA]

YONGIN, Gyeonggi — Twice driven to the brink of bankruptcy. Once fueled by the audacious dream of building aircraft. Rising from a humble bicycle parts shop to Korea’s second-largest automaker.

Such a tumultuous history leads back to one company: Kia. The Korean automaker held a ceremony on Friday marking its 80th anniversary at its Vision Square training center in Yongin, Gyeonggi, unveiling a concept car meant to encapsulate the company's future trajectory.

Founded in 1944 by engineer Kim Cheol-ho, Kia endured two brushes with bankruptcy and spent 12 years under court receivership. Even in the midst of financial turmoil, the company continued to invest, becoming the first in Korea to develop two-wheel motorcycles and three-wheel vehicles.

Following its acquisition by Hyundai Motor, Kia is now firmly embedded in one of the world’s top three automotive groups.

“Kia’s 80-year journey has been anything but effortless, yet the company has weathered every hardship through its distinctive reserve of resilience,” Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung said during the event.

“Kia, in truth, can be seen as an unrefined diamond, possessing an elemental strength and an unmistakable character at its core."

Kia’s Vision Meta Turismo concept car, which was unveiled at an event celebrating the brand's 80th anniversary in Yongin, Gyeonggi, on Dec. 5. [NEWS1]

From humble beginnings to the global stage

Kia’s leap began in the 1980s, when the Bongo mini truck and the Pride hatchback became runaway hits. Production of the Pride, soon embraced as a “dream car” among young Koreans, began in 1986.

But the company’s ascent stalled abruptly during the Asian financial crisis in 1997, which resulted in court receivership in April 1998. In October of that year, Kia was acquired by Hyundai Group, an outcome shaped by founder Chung Ju-yung’s long-held ambition to build a top-five global automaker.

Kia returned to the black just a year later, propelled by the Carens, Carnival and Carstar, and its court receivership formally ended in February 2000. During an internal succession turmoil that roiled Hyundai Group that same year, Kia and Hyundai were separated from the broader conglomerate, forming a new automotive group.

Kia's first three-wheeled car, the K360 [SARAH CHEA]

The Kia Brisa, its first mass-production passenger car, which was launched in 1974 [SARAH CHEA]

Despite its recovery, Kia’s growth soon ran up against the limits of dated design and an unclear brand identity. Then-CEO Euisun Chung, now the group's executive chair, flew to Germany to hire Peter Schreyer, one of the world’s most influential automotive designers, previously with Audi and Volkswagen.

The results were immediate and decisive: Beginning in 2009, Kia launched the mega-hit K series, starting with the midsize K7, then the K5, K3 and flagship K9 with the signature “tiger-nose” grille.

It then began making its mark on the global stage, opening its first overseas plant in Slovakia in 2007. In 2009, a factory in Georgia followed, later producing the K5 and boosting the brand’s share of the U.S. market.

As of 2024, Kia had sold about 3.09 million vehicles globally, with factories in Slovakia, the United States, China, India and Mexico. The Hyundai-Kia combination grew to the world’s third-largest automaker, behind only Toyota and Volkswagen.

“Kia’s survival and subsequent rise are nothing short of miraculous,” said Jeong Eui-chul, the company’s vice president for strategy, who joined the automaker in 1991. “Integration with Hyundai fundamentally reshaped Kia’s trajectory, and our employees remain determined that the company will never again face the specter of bankruptcy.”

The interior of the Vision Meta Turismo concept car [KIA]

Charting a path to the next century

Kia’s newly unveiled Vision Meta Turismo concept car presents a futuristic silhouette, which, according to the automaker, embodies both the brand’s future direction and its core identity.

The concept introduces three augmented reality-enhanced digital driving modes — Speedster, Dreamer and Gamer — all powered by advanced head-up-display technology. The system allows drivers to perceive virtual graphics as if they were suspended above the real roadway, rendered three-dimensionally through the vehicle’s integrated smart-glass interface, without the need for any wearable device.

It also comes with a retractable steering wheel, reflecting a strategy to extend mobility beyond mere driving into realms of relaxation and human connection.

Kia showcased 17 vehicles that trace the company’s evolution — from Korea’s first domestically produced bicycle, the “3000-ri,” to its most successful models, the Sportage and Carnival, in the center of Vision Square, which will be opened to the public through 2029.