In recent years, two South Korean car companies are finally beginning to gain the attention they deserve. I’m sure you have heard of both of these cars, but perhaps you didn’t know that they are Korean made or what they are capable of. Kia and Hyundai are two automotive companies that usually don’t draw a whole lot of attention, but they really should. Both companies have made tremendous progress over the past three years, especially expanding into the sports car and luxury car markets. Throughout this blog post, I may refer to Kia and Hyundai collectively, as “they,” mostly because the two companies are so similar… they have nearly direct parallel models, and actually use identical parts and motors because they partially own each other (subsidiaries of the Hyundai-Kia Motor Group).
A little background info: Kia was founded in 1944, and Hyundai was founded in 1947, but neither started making cars until the 1990s, and were not hugely popular because no one knew what to expect from the two companies (as far as reliability and quality of materials). After more than fifteen years, they have proved to be not only reliable, but inexpensive and attractive. They have grown so rapidly, that they are now the first (Hyundai) and second (Kia) largest automotive companies in the world, in terms of number of cars sold annually. That’s right — they have even surpassed Toyota and Honda, the two leading car companies for years. I believe that a large reason that they have become so popular is because they both offer 10 year / 100,000 mile warranties, which is the best on the market. So, even if the cars aren’t as high quality as say German engineered cars (such as BMW, Audi, or Mercedes), there is an exceptional warranty to back them up… not to mention the relative price difference compared to German cars.
Many would argue that German cars are superior to Korean cars (myself included), but there is a substantial argument against that point of which I can respect. Kia and Hyundai have always been in the market to compete with Toyota and Honda mostly. They seemed to always release a car that was “equivalent” to a model that Toyota or Honda already had out. Toyota made the Corolla and Honda made the Civic, and then Kia and Hyundai came along and made the Forte and Elantra. Toyota made the Camry and Honda made the Accord, and then Kia and Hyundai made the Optima and Sonata (both of which are great cars). Toyota and Honda have always been their main competitors, until now…
A few years ago when Hyundai got rid of the Tiburon, they decided to make a more proper sports car called the Genesis. It came in a sporty coupe trim, and offered up to a 3.8 liter engine, capable of hanging with the Infiniti G series, and Lexus IS, performance wise.
The Genesis also came in the luxury-sedan trim, and offered up to a 5.0 R-Spec engine. The new four-door Genesis looked nearly identical to a Mercedes-Benz E350, and actually performed better for less money. Kia then made the Cadenza a year later to compete in the mid-size luxury sedan market.
Now, both Kia and Hyundai are moving up even one more notch into the full-size luxury sedan market. Hyundai began producing its top-of-the-line Equus about a year ago, and of course, Kia has followed suit with the new K900. Both of these start around $58,000, which may seem steep for a Korean car, but in comparison to the cars it is competing with (BMW 740i starting at $74,000, Audi A8 starting at $75,000, and the Mercedes Benz S550 starting at $93,000) it’s quite a fair price. The Equus and K900 have very similar technology, performance, features, capability, and fuel economy as the German competitors, and both look stunning as well. The Equus and K900 even have different badging, so it doesn’t look like “just a Hyundai/Kia”.
Notice how similar, almost identical, the interiors are… this is because Kias and Hyundais make essentially the same exact cars as each other, just with different branding.
If you didn’t already know, I’m telling you now that Kia and Hyundai are both on the uprise, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them remain #1 and #2 in sales for a quite some time.
I never realized how much the kia and hyundai were on the rise until reading this blog. What surprises me the most by far is how they are now numbers one and two of the largest automotive companies. I would have definitely expected different cars that you more commonly hear about to come before these. Considering the great warranties that they have to offer, I can see why it’s becoming more popular. When I think about luxurious cars and nice interiors, I would have never known that these cars have made so many advances. I agree about how almost identical the cars are.
Besides the most obvious and luxurious cars like the Lamborghini or a Mercedes-Benz, the Kia is the car I’ve have heard of frequently. Being a big sports fan, I watch the NBA almost everyday. If you know basketball, then you know the Kia is surprisingly the official car of the NBA with Blake Griffin, All Star Power Forward, as a spokesperson. This is a huge accomplishment for any car company, especially Kia. As for the Hyundai, I don’t know much about it but your post gave some good info on its history and recent success. Also its design looks like high quality stuff, something you’d see from bigger brands like the Mercedes. If I was to buy a car, Kia and Hyundai are now at the top of my list.