Hyundai Motor Company is Kia’s largest shareholder, but Kia is not wholly owned by Hyundai. That difference matters when you compare vehicles, research a car, or decide what a brand name says about a driver’s choices. Ownership is not the same as identity.
Kia Corporation is a separate public company, while Hyundai Motor Group is an affiliated group of companies. A controlling stake is a shareholding large enough to give an investor control over company decisions. Kia’s ownership can shape how the companies work together, but it does not make every Kia vehicle a Hyundai.
Key Takeaways
- Hyundai Motor Company is Kia’s largest shareholder.
- Kia remains a separate public company.
- Hyundai Motor Group is an affiliated network, not one parent company.
- Kia and Hyundai are South Korean automakers with separate brands.
- A shareholding describes company ownership, not a vehicle badge.
A controlling stake describes influence through shares, not a brand name appearing on the vehicle.
Who Owns Kia Company Today?
Hyundai Motor Company held 35.17% of Kia in 2025, making it the largest shareholder rather than the sole owner. That is a minority stake, not full ownership, and other investors hold shares too.
Hyundai Motor Company and related parties together held 36.99% in 2025. The National Pension Service held 7.25%, while Chung Eui-sun held 1.81%.
Hyundai Motor Company owns a large share of Kia, but it does not own all of Kia. A shareholder percentage is not the same as complete ownership.
Who owns Kia and Hyundai?
Hyundai Motor Company is Kia’s largest shareholder; it does not own every Kia share. Hyundai Motor Company is a South Korean company, and Kia is a South Korean automaker. The two companies are distinct, though both belong to the wider Hyundai Motor Group network.
The table separates Hyundai Motor Company’s individual stake from the combined stake held with related parties. This distinction helps you read ownership figures without treating an affiliated group as one shareholder.
| Shareholder | Stake in 2025 | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Hyundai Motor Company | 35.17% | Largest shareholder |
| Hyundai Motor Company and related parties | 36.99% | Combined holding |
| National Pension Service | 7.25% | Major shareholder |
| Chung Eui-sun | 1.81% | Individual shareholder |
A share is a portion of a public company, while a stake measures an investor’s share of its ownership. For a plain guide to these ideas, see this explanation of share ownership and company control. The same basic distinction helps make Kia’s shareholder numbers easier to read.
Which country is Kia from?
Kia is from South Korea, and its corporate headquarters are in Seoul. Hyundai Motor Company is also South Korean, so the companies share a national base as well as a wider corporate connection.
That connection does not make Kia a Hyundai division or change the meaning of its shares. Kia remains its own automaker, with its own products and company identity. You can describe it as affiliated with Hyundai Motor Group without calling Hyundai Motor Company its sole owner.
Read the 35.17% figure as Hyundai Motor Company’s stake, not as the percentage of Kia vehicles or brands it controls by name.
Is Kia Still a Separate Company?
Yes, Kia is a separate public company, listed on the Korea Exchange as KRX: 000270. Its own listing marks a corporate identity distinct from Hyundai Motor Company.
A public corporation can have major shareholders without becoming a wholly owned subsidiary. Kia is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, and keeps its own brand and corporate leadership.
As a listed company, Kia has shares that investors can trade on the exchange. Hyundai Motor Company’s shareholding gives it a major ownership position, but Kia is not simply a private division inside Hyundai. This is the difference between having a large investor and having one company own all of another.
If you want a quick comparison, a public share represents part of the company, while a share price reflects the market value of one share. An explainer on public company shares and stock prices uses Apple as an example of how those terms differ.
Is Kia’s brand separate from Hyundai’s?
Yes. Kia markets vehicles under its own name, with its own design choices and model range. Hyundai sells vehicles under the Hyundai brand, so buyers see two separate automakers in showrooms.
The companies can share business ties and work within the same affiliated group while still keeping separate public identities. Kia’s corporate leadership also belongs to Kia, rather than serving as a label for Hyundai’s own management. These distinctions matter when you compare product plans or company results.
A shared corporate connection does not make the Kia name a Hyundai model line.
How Did Hyundai Gain Control of Kia?
Kia’s ownership relationship with Hyundai began after Kia declared bankruptcy in 1997 during the Asian financial crisis. The financial crisis pushed Kia into a major change in control.
Hyundai Motor Company purchased 51% of Kia in 1998. That agreement brought Kia under Hyundai Motor Company’s control and placed Kia in the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group that year.
The 1998 ownership agreement
The 1998 deal followed a difficult period for Kia. Bankruptcy left the company needing a new owner, and Hyundai Motor Company acquired a majority stake. That purchase gave Hyundai Motor Company control through its shares, while Kia continued as an automaker with its own name.
The transaction began the relationship that still links the companies. It did not mean that Kia’s name, products, or operations vanished into Hyundai. Rather, the agreement made Hyundai Motor Company Kia’s controlling shareholder at that point in the company’s history.
How Kia’s stake changed by 2011
Hyundai Motor Company’s ownership later fell as it divested some shares. By 2011, it owned 33.7% of Kia Motors. This lower figure is a historical stake, not Kia’s current percentage.
The shift shows why ownership figures need a year beside them. A past majority holding and a later minority holding describe different points in the agreement’s history. The 2011 number also does not replace current share data, which belongs to a separate period.
Kia’s status as a public company allowed its ownership mix to change over time. A shareholder can sell part of its holding without ending every tie between companies. That is why the acquisition year and later stake should be read as separate events.
Keep the 51% acquisition in 1998 and the 33.7% stake in 2011 tied to their respective years.
What Is Hyundai Motor Group’s Structure?
Hyundai Motor Group is an affiliated group of companies, not a single company with a central holding company. Its members are linked through shareholding arrangements, a network rather than one parent structure.
Hyundai Motor Company is regarded as the group’s de facto representative. That role does not make it the owner of every company in the group.
An affiliated group, not a holding company
A holding company usually sits above other firms and owns their shares through a central structure. Hyundai Motor Group does not follow that single-company model. It is a broad group of affiliated companies connected through their shareholdings.
This structure can make everyday descriptions confusing. People may use “Hyundai” to mean the automaker, the wider group, or one of its brands. Those meanings are not interchangeable when you discuss ownership.
Kia is affiliated with the group, while Hyundai Motor Company is the specific company that holds Kia shares. A large corporation can also have investors who own its shares without any one investor owning the whole corporation. These are separate layers of company ownership.
Who owns Hyundai Motor Company?
Hyundai Motor Company is publicly traded and owned by its shareholders. It does not have one sole owner. Its shareholders hold portions of the company, just as shareholders in other listed firms do.
So, when someone asks who owns Hyundai, the answer depends on which name they mean. Hyundai Motor Company is a public automaker with shareholders. Hyundai Motor Group is the wider affiliated network and does not have one central owner in a holding company.
Use Hyundai Motor Company when describing Kia’s shareholder, and Hyundai Motor Group when describing the wider affiliated network.
Who Runs Kia?
Ho Sung Song is Kia’s President and CEO, while the company’s board has 9 members. The board oversees the company, while the CEO leads its daily work.
Kia’s board has 4 executive directors and 5 independent directors. Song was reappointed for a three-year term in 2025.
Kia’s board and independent directors
The board includes both executives and independent directors. Executive directors are company leaders who sit on the board. Independent directors serve in board roles separate from day-to-day executive management.
That division gives the board an oversight role rather than making every director part of Kia’s daily management. The board’s composition also does not change Kia’s identity as a separate company. It describes how Kia’s leadership is organized.
Ho Sung Song’s role and term
Ho Sung Song first became Kia’s CEO and President on June 10, 2020. Kia reappointed him on March 14, 2025, for a three-year term. Kia’s 2026 CEO Investor Day continued to identify him as President and CEO.
The Hyundai Motor Group’s 2025 Autocar Awards announcement also names Song as Kia’s President and CEO. His role is executive leadership, not the same as an independent director’s board oversight.
- Kia board: 9 members.
- Executive directors: 4.
- Independent directors: 5.
- Ho Sung Song: President and CEO, reappointed in 2025 for a three-year term.
Keep the executive leadership role distinct from the independent directors’ board roles.
When Did Kia Start Making Cars?
Kia’s roots go back to 1944, but its passenger-car story began decades later. The company began as Kyungsung Precision Industry, not as a car brand.
Kia began making the Brisa pickup in 1973, then unveiled the Brisa passenger car in 1974. The two milestones describe different kinds of vehicle and different years.
Kyungsung Precision Industry’s origins
Kyungsung Precision Industry was founded in 1944. It was renamed Kia Industries in 1952, as the business changed and grew. Its early work did not begin with passenger cars.
The company’s name changed again over time, reflecting a wider move into vehicle production. Kia Motors Corporation was its name from 1990 to 2021. In 2021, the company became Kia Corporation.
The phrase Kia Motors still appears in older records and everyday speech. It refers to the former company name and the automaker’s history, rather than to a separate current company. The Kia name remains the brand used for its vehicles.
From the Brisa to the Pride and Sephia
Kia began production of the Brisa pickup in 1973. It unveiled the Brisa passenger car the following year, in 1974. Those dates answer different versions of when Kia began making cars.
Kia began production of the Pride in 1986, and the model reached the U.S. market in 1987. That step brought the brand to American buyers. The Pride was followed by another important car in Kia’s development.
In 1992, Kia began production of the Sephia, its first independently developed passenger car. The model showed a new stage in the company’s own design and production work. These milestones give a clearer picture than treating all early vehicles as passenger cars.
Kia Industries also made bicycles as the company expanded its manufacturing work. That background helps explain why the 1944 founding date and the start of car production do not match. The company existed for years before its first Brisa vehicles.
What does Kia Motors stand for?
Kia is not an acronym or a military phrase. The name comes from Hanja and means roughly “rising from East Asia.” That reading points to the name’s roots, not to a hidden set of initials.
The meaning is often discussed alongside Kia Motors, but the company name changed in 2021. Today, Kia Corporation is the company’s name, while Kia remains the familiar brand on its cars, SUVs, and trucks.
For the question of when Kia started making cars, distinguish the Brisa pickup in 1973 from the Brisa passenger car unveiled in 1974.
How Reliable and Secure Are Kia Vehicles?
Kia’s latest reliability results differ sharply by model, with the Carnival Hybrid at the top and the EV9 at the bottom. Reliability varies by model and model year, so one score cannot describe every Kia.
The Kia Carnival Hybrid was Kia’s most reliable model in the latest survey, while the EV9 was its least reliable. Consumer Reports’ survey drew on data from about 380,000 vehicles.
What the reliability results say about Kia models
Consumer Reports averaged model data from the 2023, 2024, and 2025 model years, plus some early 2026 data where samples were large enough. The survey covered model years 2000 through 2025, including some early 2026 vehicles.
Most surveyed hybrid cars, minivans, SUVs, and trucks had average or better reliability. Kia’s own results still split by model. The EV6 had reported problems with its integrated charging control unit, a part tied to charging.
The Sportage PHEV had average reliability, but scored worse than gas-only and hybrid versions. The table shows why a broad statement about all Kia models can mislead.
| Kia model | Type | Survey finding |
|---|---|---|
| Carnival Hybrid | Hybrid minivan | Most reliable Kia model in the latest survey |
| EV9 | Electric SUV | Least reliable Kia model in the latest survey |
| EV6 | Electric vehicle | Reported integrated charging control unit problems |
| Sportage PHEV | Plug-in hybrid SUV | Average reliability; below gas-only and hybrid versions |
That model-level view is more useful than judging the brand by one vehicle. For example, a Kia Telluride or Kia Seltos has its own design and model-year details. Those details can matter more than a brand-wide rating when comparing cars.
Why some older Kia models can cost more to insure
Theft concerns involved certain older Hyundai and Kia models, not every Kia. Some 2015-2019 Hyundai and Kia models were roughly twice as likely to be stolen as other vehicles of similar age.
Electronic immobilizers were standard on 96% of vehicles sold for those model years, compared with 26% of Hyundai and Kia vehicles sold then. After theft losses rose, Progressive and State Farm temporarily limited new policies for certain older models in some areas.
Consumer Reports covered the theft rise and security software for certain older vehicles. In 2023, Hyundai and Kia said immobilizers were standard on all their vehicles. They were also developing security software for vehicles originally sold without immobilizers.
Use this short checklist when you consider a specific used vehicle:
- Confirm the exact model year and security equipment.
- Ask an insurer about eligibility before buying a specific older vehicle.
- Compare insurance quotes using the exact vehicle details.
Check insurance eligibility for the exact model year and vehicle before making a purchase decision.
What Is Kia’s Plan for 2026 and 2030?
Kia’s plan pairs a 2026 global sales goal with larger sales and electric-vehicle targets for 2030. These are company targets, not guaranteed results.
Kia set a 2030 annual sales target of 1 million electric vehicles. Its broader plan also includes total sales and market-share goals.
Kia’s 2026 CEO Investor Day set out these aims for global sales and production growth. The figures describe the company’s planned direction for its vehicles and technology.
- 2026 global sales target: 3.35 million vehicles.
- 2026 global market-share target: 3.8%.
- 2030 global sales target: 4.13 million vehicles, with a 4.5% market share.
- 2030 annual electric-vehicle sales target: 1 million.
Kia’s targets describe what the company plans to reach, not what it has already achieved. Future sales can differ from the goals.
The plan includes more than a single model or car year. It sets direction for the company’s global sales, electric vehicle offerings, and design work. Buyers may see new products as Kia works toward these goals.
Treat each figure as a company target, not a promise of future sales.
Conclusion
Kia is part of a wider Hyundai-linked corporate network, but it remains its own public company. Hyundai Motor Company is its largest shareholder, and Kia keeps a distinct brand and company identity.
If you are comparing a used Kia, focus on the vehicle rather than the badge alone. A specific model year can have different safety equipment, reliability results, and insurance terms from another year.
Check the exact vehicle details and insurance terms before you decide. A clear comparison helps you judge whether the car fits your budget and needs.
Before choosing a specific vehicle, compare its model-year details and insurance terms with your needs.
FAQ
Is Kia its own company?
Yes, Kia is a separately listed public company, even though Hyundai Motor Company is its largest shareholder. Kia trades on the Korea Exchange and has its own brand and corporate leadership. A major shareholder can hold significant influence without owning every share. That distinction separates Kia from a wholly owned subsidiary.
Are Kia parts expensive?
Kia parts costs depend on the component, the vehicle model, and whether you choose an original-equipment or aftermarket part. A brake pad, body panel, and electronic part can have very different costs. Parts for a newer or less common model may also be harder to find. Compare the exact part and fit for your vehicle.
Which is better, Kia or Hyundai?
Neither Kia nor Hyundai is the universal choice for every driver. Compare specific models, safety features, room, fuel use, and the design you prefer. A Kia Telluride and a Hyundai SUV may suit different needs, even when their companies are affiliated. A test drive can show which model feels better for your daily routes.
Why is Kia discontinuing?
Kia is not planning to discontinue its business. Its 2026 plan sets global sales goals, and its 2030 strategy includes larger sales and electric-vehicle targets. Those plans show continued work on vehicles and technology. A model may leave a market or lineup, but that does not mean the whole company is closing.
Why do people say not to get a Kia?
Some concerns relate to theft risks for certain 2015-2019 Hyundai and Kia models, while reliability findings differ by model. Neither issue applies equally to every Kia. Check the exact year, security equipment, and model history rather than treating one warning as a rule for the whole brand. Insurance terms can also differ by area.
Which Kia to stay away from?
The EV9 was Kia’s least reliable model in Consumer Reports’ latest survey. That result does not show that every EV9, model year, or Kia is a poor choice. Survey results can vary as a vehicle’s design changes. Review the exact model year and any vehicle-specific records before making a decision.
Why is insurance so high on Kias?
Some insurers limited new policies for certain older Kia models in some areas after theft losses increased. The concern centered on specific vehicles, not every Kia. Insurance prices also depend on the vehicle, your location, and your driving record. Get quotes using the exact model year and vehicle details before you buy.
