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Kia Clarus
Dubbed South Korea's number two in automobile manufacturing, the KIA Automobile Group has grown from a humble company into an empire through the years. Started in 1944, KIA is moreover South Korea's oldest car company. The company started as a steel manufacturing industry, specializing in the production of items such as steel tubes as well as bikes. It was not until 1952 that the KIA Automobile Group, then under the name Kyungsund precision industry, ventured into the production of vehicles by building trucks as well as saloon cars. 1986 saw KIA fully incorporate itself in the automobile industry by partnering with other car manufacturers such as Mazda and Ford to produce cars not only for the South Korean market but also for export to North America as well as Australasia.
Through expansion attributed to the sales of the KIA branded vehicles, KIA Automobile Group was launched in the United States of America in the 1992. Under the brand KIA Motors America, KIA was able to successfully produce and sell vehicles that are popular even up to the present day, such as the KIA Sportage as well as various Ford models. Despite the acquisition by the Hyundai Motor Company in 1998 owing to bankruptcy as a result of the Asian financial crisis, the KIA brand still stands tall amongst motor companies in South Korea as well as competing companies in foreign markets. The KIA Clarus, referred to as KIA Credos in South Korea was the very first KIA branded vehicle to be produced on a large scale in order to target various markets dealing with family cars. The KIA Clarus of 1997 copied or rather heavily borrowed the design and mechanical make of the Mazda 626.
Silver Kia Clarus
