Kia From Bicycles To One Of The Biggest Car Companies - YouTube

There’s mainly two types of Cars out there,

The Sports Cars

And we all know Audi, Ferrari, Porschefor that segment, right?

But you cannot Vroom through the roads at 150mph daily na.

Thus the SUVs and Sedans..

At which KIA is unbeatably the king right now!

The designs are just...…

. A sight to behold.

But how did all of this start?

What are hurdles that KIA had to face?

Hello everyone,

Welcome back to Business Biography!

join us in today’s video as we’ll tell you the Story of KIA from bicycles to best

designed cars in the world.

Also before we begin make sure to like the video and subscribe to the channel for more

business stories

That being said, let’s begin!

KIA Motors Corporation as we know it today is Korea's oldest car manufacturer,

It is the world's fifth-biggest vehicle manufacturer, producing more than 1.4 million vehicles yearly

at 14 production and assembly facilities globally.

These cars are then marketed and serviced via a network of over 3,000 distributors and

dealers in almost 200 countries.

But how did it all start?

Well, the KIA Motors began in December 1944 under the name Kyungsung Precision Industry.

KIA Industries was later adopted as the company's name.

According to Kia Motors, the name “Kia” derives from the Sino-Korean words KI (“to

come out”) and A(which stands for Asia), it is roughly translated as “arise or come

up out of Asia” or “rising out of Asia”.

Now, KIA is South Korea’s oldest car company which kind of makes sense if you look at the

name.

So, Kia was founded on June 9, 1944.

But not as a Car company but as a manufacturer of steel tubing and bicycle parts by hand.

And it has operated as one of South Korea’s Chaebols since then.

After almost 7 years, In 1951 Kia began building complete bicycles.

In 1952, Kia changed its name from Kyungsung Precision Industry, and no later than 5 years

it also started building motorcycles.

But the next shift was really dramatic as it shifted directly to trucks in 1962 and

then slowly started producing cars in less than 12 years.

KIA motors opened its first integrated automotive assembly plant in 1973, the Sohari Plant.

Kia built the small Brisa Range of cars until 1981, when production came to an end after

the new military dictator Chun Doo-hwan enforced industry consolidation, meaning Kia had to

give up passenger cars and focus entirely on light trucks.

And we thought only North Korea suffered from the dictators.

But later on Starting in 1986, Kia rejoined the automobile industry in partnership with

none other than 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.

Now would you believe that until 1986 KIA had only produced 26 Cars.

And the same year it joined forces with Ford.

It produced more than 90k Cars in a single year.

I mean it’s just something which is not usually seen in today’s world!

Now, by the Beginning of 1992, KIA began growing one region at a time in America, and by 1995,

it had over one hundred dealerships spread across thirty states, and it established a

record by selling 24,740 vehicles.

But when everything was shines and lights.

KIA went bankrupt in 1997 as a result of the Asian Financial Crisis.

But KIA was not the company to just give in..

Yes, it was compelled to diversify and later reached an arrangement with Hyundai Motor

to shift ownership between the two firms.

Hyundai Motor Company acquired 51% of the company outbidding Ford Motor Company which

had a relationship with Kia Motors since 1986.

But after subsequent divestments, Hyundai Motor Company owns less than 50% of the company.

Though after some changes The Hyundai Motor Company holds around 33.8% stake in Kia Motors.

And thus Kia Motors Corporation which was founded in 1944, is now a subsidiary of Hyundai-Kia

Automotive Group.

After this merger and getting back from that crisis KIA focused on the European market

and identified design as its “core future growth engine”

This change in strategy led to the hiring of Peter Schreyer in 2006 as Chief Design

Officer.

And which was such a ballsy move which turned the company’s future.

But before we discuss the shift Peter laid out for KIA, let’s finish the expansion

real quick.

In October 2006, Kia Motors America broke ground for Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia

in West Point, Georgia, representing a $1 billion US Dollar investment for the company.

Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia was opened in February 2010, after Kia recorded its 15th

consecutive year of increased U.S. market share.

And KIA also used some specialised market penetration techniques to fuel this expansion.

One such example is the expansion in the Jordan market.

During the significant market obstacles, KIA worked real hard to attract Jordanian customers

to buy.

KIA Jordan reduced its gross margin on several models, but the tax still remained a key obstacle

to sales.

KIA believed that a new campaign offering cheap down payments and flexible installment

options would generate enough enthusiasm to promote sales in Jordan.

Thus executives also decided to sweeten the sale by including a high-end gift with a purchase

that would get people talking.

KIA Jordan wanted the people to feel a profound connection with its brands, building customer

relationships and loyalty even after the car was purchased.

A classic thing to do.

So KIA chose to collaborate with Samsung, which we all know is a big name in South Korea

and the world for its attractive and popular consumer phones.

Now under this new offering of KIA, it included a free, high-quality mobile with the purchase

of specific KIA models.

When a person purchases a car, KIA gives the buyer one of five new Samsung gadgets that

have been personalized to match the model purchased:

Picanto, Optima, Niro, Rio, Sportage, and Cerato.

KIA was able to apply complex, distinct branding to the smartphones by using Samsung's Knox

Configure customization tool.

The team adjusted the gadget boot-up and shut-down animation to represent the unique KIA model

acquired at a low cost.

KIA really outdid themselves as a Car company on this one which don’t usually are known

for their software experience!

KIA initially established six device profiles in the Knox console to use the application.

then they allocated each device to a profile using the Knox Configure auto-enrollment tool,

which uses the device's unique identification number.

When the consumer opens it and connects the device to the network, they will see a customized

logo animation for the automobile that features the KIA model that they have just purchased.

Which if you ask me, is really cool.

This branded experience was created to provide customers another reason to be pleased with

their purchase while also encouraging viral marketing activities for KIA in Jordan.

And guess what they were able to create the hype!

But more than this whole experience KIA Motors came into the spotlight in August 2014, when

Pope Francis of the Catholic Church chose to ride in one of KIA's vehicles during his

five-day visit in South Korea.

But how did this happen?

Well, the design was the reason of course!

KIA Motors has a good history of producing a wide range of premium and heavy Vehicles.

However, in 2006, KIA Motors decided to focus on core design, which is the underlying future

of the growth engine.

As we discussed earlier KIA Motors appointed Audi and Volkswagen designer Peter Schreyer

and Cadillac designer Tom Kearns as Chief Design Officers to make this transition a

reality.

And since then, the pair has modified and restyled KIA's whole range of cars.

Peter Schreyer said that KIA Motors should have a design in front of every automobile

that demonstrates the individuality and strength of KIA Motors while making it appear even

from a distance that the car is made by KIA Motors.

As a result, Schreyer developed the KIA Tiger Nose as the company's insignia, which can

currently be seen in front of every KIA vehicle.

And after this restyling and redesigning, Kia Motors have won the International Car

of the Year award every year since 2013.

Which is just insane if you ask me!

But they did it..

Peter changed the course of the company.

Today KIA Motors is now a major sponsor of a variety of sports and events.

FIFA, UEFA, National BasketBall Association, Asian Games, Archery World Cup, FIFA World

Cup, and other organizations.

Also for the Athletes such as Ryan Ford, Blake Griffin, and Fernando Gonzalez, to name a

few.

It has also backed stars such as Pierce Brosnan, Christopher Walken, and Laurence Fishburne..

Thanks to Peter, they have the best designs!

And the way they market it throughout these sponsorships is just genius.

In the end, the rich history, the shift to changes around in the world, and the genius

strategies makes KIA one of the top car manufacturers in the world!

That’s it for the day guys!

I hope you enjoyed the video.

And if you have ever owned a KIA, Let us know about the experience in the comments below!

Also subscribe to the channel and press the bell icon for more amazing business biographies..

And we’ll see you in the next one!