Today, June 30, Kia celebrates the 20th anniversary since it sold its first ever car in the UK. In 1991, the small hatchback Pride was the only Kia model on sale in Britain and in that year, the company managed to sell just only 1,786 cars.
However, two decades is a very long time in the automotive industry. Since then Kia has changed remarkably on its way to become an important player on a global scale. In 2010, Kia sold a record 56,114 cars in the UK and, for the first time ever, more than 2 million units worldwide.
Not bad for a company that started out in the 1950s as a humble bicycle maker but eventually grew to be a part of the fourth largest automotive group in the world (together with parent company Hyundai) with a presence in over 170 countries.
The year 2006 was a major turning point in Kia’s direction. The appointment of Peter Schreyer as chief designer was at the core of the plan to make the brand’s products appeal to buyer’s emotions, instead of simply playing the value for money card. What followed were models such as the Soul, the Venga and the new Sportage, which displayed Schreyer’s vision for an appealing and at the same time coherent design language.
Michael Cole, Managing Director of Kia Motors UK, commented on the occasion: “We think we have a fantastic range of cars –and judging from our growth, the customers think so too. 2011 is set to be our best year as we will also introduce three brand-new models: the Picanto, the Rio and, later, the Optima”.
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