According to the company, "Kia" derives from the Hanja 起 (ki, 'to arise') and 亞 (a, which stands for 亞細亞, meaning 'Asia'); it is roughly translated as "Rising from (East) Asia".

[10] Kia built the small Mazda-based Brisa range of cars until 1981, when production came to an end after the new military dictator Chun Doo-hwan enforced industry consolidation.

[12] Prior to the forced 1981 shutdown, Kia had rounded out its passenger car lineup with two other foreign models assembled under license: the Fiat 132[13][14] and the Peugeot 604.

[15][16] The import of these knock-down kits was permitted as long as Kia exported five cars for every single Fiat or Peugeot brought in (Hyundai had to meet the same requirement).

Kia produced several Mazda-derived vehicles for both domestic sales in South Korea and for export into other countries - where they were positioned at the budget end of the market.

[29] Kia's Tasman pickup truck made its global debut at the Jeddah International Motor Show in Saudi Arabia on 29 Oct.

Kia America is based in Irvine, California, and currently offers a complete line of vehicles through more than 755 dealers throughout the United States.

The two models most recently introduced to the U.S. market have both been highly awarded during the short time since their launch: the 2018 Stinger performance sedan gained recognition with J.D.

As of September 2019, the location has successfully built over 3 million units of these three models altogether, and shortly after celebrated another milestone by reaching its 10th year of production in November 2019.

Currently, the facility has a production capacity of 340,000 vehicles per year (largely dedicated to the Telluride and Sorento crossover SUVs) and is responsible for distributing them to hundreds of dealerships in the U.S. and Canada, as well as fulfilling shipments across North America and even overseas.

From 1995 to 1999, Kia produced left- and right-hand drive versions of the first generation Sportage SUV at the Karmann factory in Osnabrück, Germany.

The Clarus saloon and Sedona MPV were also launched onto the UK market during 1999, helping Kia begin its rise in popularity.

In 1998, Kia's future in Britain was thrown into serious doubt when it sold less than 3,000 of its whole range – the worst in any full year on the British market.

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.

[44] In late 2006, Kia opened its 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 between October 2004 and December 2005.

[47] The company has built a $1 billion manufacturing plant in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León, which produces 300,000 cars a year.

[48] This factory is involved in controversies because it was built on unevenly purchased land, and the construction agreement was made with advantage conditions and out of the local dispositions to Kia.

[49][50] The company entered the Indian market in July 2019[51] with their 'Made for India' SUV- SP2 Concept now announced as the global mid-sized SUV Kia Seltos.

N. Chandrababu Naidu is lauded to have signed an MOU for the government of Andhra Pradesh which came to be one of the biggest FDI's with a total investment of Rs.12,900 crore.

He also oversaw the construction of Kia's first manufacturing facility in India, to help strengthen the company's position in the fifth largest global automotive market.

[54][55] Lucky Motor Corporation (LMC) is an automobile assembler and distributor in Pakistan owned by the Yunus Brothers Group.

[56] Kia holds a 30% stake in the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus plant in St. Petersburg which is being sold in December 2023 following the problems associated with the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Kia is currently designing a Kaiser Jeep M715-type vehicle named the KM450 for the South Korean Army on license from the U.S. Government.

[63] With the Kee concept vehicle, shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2007,[26] Kia introduced a new corporate grille[26] to create a recognizable 'face' for the brand.

[67] Since 2014, Kia Motors has been involved in controversies in Mexico due to alleged irregularities in the construction of one of its manufacturing plants, located in the municipality of Pesquería, Nuevo León.

The construction of the plant was done in an irregularly purchased land agreement between Kia Motors Mexico and the State of Nuevo León, then headed by Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz, was signed with unfairly advantageous conditions, such as bigger tax incentives than those allowed by Mexican law (tax exemptions for 20 years when the standard is 5), extended to the Mexican providers of Kia.

Kia responded by offering a free software update to affected models which requires the vehicle to have a key in the ignition in order for it to start.

[73][74] In May 2023, following a class action lawsuit, Kia and Hyundai agreed to pay $200 million settlement to consumers who suffered losses as a result of the security flaws.