Kia celebrates 10 years in 2009!

This year, Kia Canada Inc. will celebrate its 10-year anniversary on the Canadian scene. The Korean automaker established itself in Canada in 1999. It has since sold over 250,000 vehicles, and the numbers are still climbing.

2009 Kia Rio

Kia Canada Inc. is a subsidiary of Kia Motors Corporation, which was established in 1944 and is the oldest Korean manufacturer. The company started out producing bicycles and bicycle parts, followed by scooters and motorcycles. In the 1950s, it made the leap to commercial vehicles.

The first automobile plant was opened in Sohari, Korea. Three years later, Kia inaugurated its first combustion engine assembly plant; in 1974, the manufacturer produced its first compact sedan, the Brisa. Since then, Kia has teamed up with manufacturers like Fiat and Peugeot to produce vehicles. It later merged with the other Korean automaker, Hyundai - and you know the rest.

When Kia Canada started out here, its facilities totalled 5,000 square feet and it employed only 15 people. The company went from producing 1,400 vehicles the first year to 13,373 the next. In 2005, Kia moved to a new, more spacious location of 175,000 square feet. Today, Kia Canada Inc. employs 1,500 people, has 155 dealers and sold 37,520 vehicles in 2008.