Kia REALLY owns Hyundai.
So, this is going to shake the foundations of many intelligent car folks out there. Everyone in the US has been fed the idea that Hyundai owns Kia or that they are akin to Chevy/Pontiac or Ford/Mercury. This is truly NOT the case. Let me explain...
So, Kia started in 1944. We discussed that earlier. Hyundai, the steel and transportation company started Hyundai Motor in 1967, almost 3 decades after Kia. They both operated completely independent in Korea for years. Kia is the major auto manufacturer in Korea, supplying them with their military vehicles, commercial trucks, and passenger buses as well. Kia and Hyundai were direct head to head competition just like Honda and Toyota are in Japan, until 1998.
In 1998, South Korea went through a MAJOR financial crisis. Kia was in the process of establishing themselves and their dealer network in the US at the time, having entered this market in 1994.
Here's the important part of the equation. In America, when the crap hits the fan and companies run out of cash and risk financial ruin, our government props everything up with dollar bills. We plugged the gaping hole by letting our government purchase major PUBLIC corporations and use cash to stop the hemorrhaging. ONLY IN AMERICA does a federal government borrow the peoples money to prop up private companies for political control. Everywhere else in the world it's sink or swim. Either you make it or you don't financially.
So, in 1998 when Korea was faced with sever financial collapse, Kia, the major automotive manufacturer, and Hyundai, the major transportation and steel supplier, decided to "diversify their portfolio" so to speak. Kia sold 33% of their stock to Hyundai Motors. In exchange, Kia purchased stock in more than TWENTY different Hyundai companies and subsidiaries. The fact is that Kia owns more than $2,000,000,000 (BILLION) more of Hyundai than Hyundai owns of Kia.
There were some rules set in place when Kia and Hyundai started playing as friends instead of competitors. The first major rule was that, while they start with the same basic electronic "platform", they had to make changes to the vehicles so that they were not twins. For example, the Sportage has the 2.4L and the 2.0L Turbo where the Tucson uses the 2.0L NON Turbo and the 1.6L Turbo. The Sorento has a .75" shorter wheelbase than the SantaFe. The second major rule was that they were NOT allowed to compete against each other. Never will you find Hyundai comparing their cars against Kia's or vise versa.
Now, let me point out how these things work in the real world for examples. First, the Sedona van. Kia brought it from the east (Kia Carnival) to the US in 2001. Van sales soared. In 2006, Hyundai said "Can we have the platform please?" Kia said sure. The 2007 Entourage showed up being a carbon copy of the Sedona. Kia yanked the plans in 2008 and the Entourage disappeared. How about the Niro/Ionic. Kia built the crossover and would not let Hyundai have the platform. Niro's thrive and the Ionic is flat. Kia brought the Soul in 2009. Hyundai wanted it and Kia said no. Instead Hyundai made the Velostar.
Kia also get's variants before Hyundai. Our Optima was redesigned in 2016, the Sonata was 2018. The Forte remade in 2017, the Elantra 2018. Kia won't let them build a variant of the Stinger and the G70 with a similar power train is a year behind. Kia will bring the Telluride to our lineup that Hyundai won't get for 12-18 months, if at all. The 2017 Optima Hybrid was remade and the Sonata was just unveiled.
Now ask yourself, why does Kia out perform Hyundai in the quality tests by JD Power or Consumer Reports? It's because they make different cars from different assembly lines at different factories.
So, while they may be considered cousins, they are in fact two different auto manufacturers who simply share some financial interest and suppliers. LOL
