Kia

1944: Kia began by making bicycles, moving on to motor cycles and three wheeled cargo trucks.

1973: Kia started making four wheeled trucks.

1980s: Kia formed links with Mazda (the Ceres small truck uses a Mazda engine and transmission) and Ford (building the Festiva small car).

1997: Kia Sportage 4x4 on sale in Australia.

1997: Kia fell into financial difficulty, the Korean Government taking a 30% share through the Government controlled bank.

1998: There were rumours that Hyundai might take-over Kia, and that Samsung had similar ambitions.

1998 October 21: Hyundai won the bidding for Kia, the final deal put to Kia's creditors on 17 November.
1998 December 1: Hyundai and Kia formally signed the contract.