1. The journey from unknown Kia to a world-recognized brand leading the U.S car list

You must already know Hyundai is the parent of Kia Motors but is Kia Motors a division separated from the original Hyundai group?

Founded in 1944 as Kyungsung Precision Industry, Kia was a totally independent brand from Hyundai. Its name “Kia” denotes its origin as “come out of the east” of Asia.

At that time, the company focused on manufacturing steel tubing and bicycle components. It was the one to produce Korea’s first domestic bike names the Samchully. Later when it changed to Kia Industries, it was responsible for small Honda-licensed motorcycles as well as some Mazda-licensed vehicles.

Kia started as a humble company producing licensed vehicles for other brands

The very first range of automobiles from Kia was Brisa passenger cars which were discontinued in 1981 along with Fiat 132 and Peugeot 604 under license. Kia used to join a partnership with Ford Motor Company to present Kia Pride sold as Ford Festiva and Ford Aspire in the North American market.

It was not until 1998 that Kia agreed to exchange ownership with Hyundai Motor Company. Today, the Hyundai group is holding 33.88% stake of Kia while Kia is a minority owner of over 20 Hyundai subsidiaries.

The two turning point of Kia in this vehicle industry is when it hired Peter Schreyer in 2006 and when Pope Francis visited South Korea in 2014.

Peter Schreyer formerly worked at Audi and Volkswagen. He also won Design Award of Germany. After he was recruited as chief designer of Kia, he has boosted Kia’s visibility with “Tiger Nose” – “a powerful visual signal, a seal, an identifier.” If people could hardly recognize Kia as a Korean or Japanese car brand before, they can now easily figure out its products on road, owing to Schreyer’s orientation.

Peter Schreyer has created innovative “Tiger Nose” for Kia designs

Perhaps Kia wouldn’t have gained global recognition but for Pope Francis’s five-day visit to South Korea in August, 2014. In the high-profile welcoming ceremony of the Pope at the Seoul Airport, Kia Soul has been chosen for his ride, drawing all attention from spectators and viewers worldwide. The two other cars used by the Pope – Kia Carnival and Hyundai Santa Fe were also paid attention but not that much.

Two years later, Kia was the first non-luxury carmaker to lead the chart of automobile reliability ranked by J.D. Power and Associates in the US.

The last thing we want to share is Kia Motors provides its services worldwide except for Japan – the home country of “big boys” in the car kingdom.

2. Latest Kia car prices in Nigeria

Kia Motors walked in Nigerian market when owning a 4-wheel private transport was a heated trend among all householders, even the ones with most modest income. Coming with a list of affordable Kia car prices in Nigeria, Kia indeed made the dream of possessing a car more realizable for average Nigerians who couldn’t afford luxury exotic automobiles.

If you might think quality cars do not come cheap, then Kia has proved you’re wrong. Over a decade after its first product introductions in the country, Kia Nigeria has served the needs of our residents with diverse reliable designs.

Kia has dedicatedly served Nigerian customers for over a decade

Such models as classical Kia Sportage, crossover vehicle Kia Sorento, compact sedan Kia Optima or trendy Kia Rio have completely won the trust of various local drivers for their smooth operation, traction and reliability. The simple but dependable look is also a bonus point for this car manufacturer.

Kia Motors are spreading its dealerships throughout the nation, displaying a variety of models and customer services. Price tags of these cars vary greatly due to the differences in car body styles, production years and other distinctive features one may look for in their own vehicle.

Presented below is the updated Kia Motors price list in Nigeria, including common brand new units, Tokunbo/ foreign used and Nigerian/locally used cars.

For pre-owned options, please take into account the car condition, fuel mileage, currency exchange rate and custom clearance fees if have. All these factors may increase or lessen the pricing of each car a bit in real-life transactions.

2.1. Brand new Kia car prices in Nigeria

Kia car prices vary greatly due to its diverse models

2.2. Foreign used (Tokunbo) Kia car prices in Nigeria

Foreign used Kia cars generally have affordable prices

>>> Check out: Updated Tokunbo car prices in Nigeria (17 most popular brands)

2.3. Locally (Nigerian) used Kia car prices in Nigeria

3. Insights into certain Kia products

As mentioned earlier, Kia products come in different designs and layouts. The quality is generally assured with highly appreciated reliability.

You can find various models from compact sedan/saloon cars, crossovers, SUVs, MPVs and also trucks in Kia Motors showrooms. Within this post, Naijauto.com just focuses on 3 most favoured products in Nigerian market.

Kia Rio, Kia Picanto and Kia Sportage are the most popular in local market

>>> Check out more vehicle prices in Nigeria:

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• Prices of Hyundai cars in Nigeria
• Prices of power bikes in Nigeria - Utmost mobility on a tiny budget

3.1. Prices of Kia Rio in Nigeria

Kia Rio was rolled out 18 years ago and has undergone 4 generations till date. This subcompact car is offered with different styles like 5-door hatchback and 4-door sedan. Regarding powertrain options, Rio variants use either inline-four gasoline or diesel engine, built as front-wheel drive vehicles.

Here is the prices of Kia Rio in Nigeria.

Brief review on Kia Rio 2018

3.2. Kia Picanto price list in Nigeria

This boy from Kia releases a vibe of urban lifestyle through its dynamic design. It was introduced in 2004, serving global markets in different styling and engine variants. The latest Picanto, 2017/2018 model called the GT-line is in form of a five-door hatchback.

This model comes with both 5-speed manual and 4-speed AT, mated to one of these engine options:

• 1.0L Kappa II MPI I3, petrol
• 1.0L Kappa II MPI turbo I3, petrol
• 1.25L Kappa II MPI I4, petrol.

Below is just a brief over Kia Picanto prices in Nigeria. For a more detailed price list of this model, please click here.

Urban flair from the outlook of Kia Picanto

3.3. Prices of Kia Sportage in Nigeria

Kia Sportage is the oldest model here with around 25 years present on the market. This 5-door compact crossover SUV goes along with 6 configurations, namely:

• 1.6L I4, gasoline
• 1.6L I4, turbo petrol
• 2.0L Theta II I4, turbo gasoline
• 2.4L Theta II I4, gasoline
• 1.7l I4, turbo diesel
• 2.0L 4l CRDi.

As prices of Kia Sportage in Nigeria, either brand new or used Sportage cars are already elaborated in general price list above, please scroll up to view details.

A glance at Kia Sportage interiors

4. Kia’s pride

There’re quite a good few remarks that Kia can be proud of. Listed below is just some in many.

• Original design: Clearly Peter Schreyer has done an excellent job in turning Kia design to a distinctive trademark on the market with simple but effective highlights for both exteriors and interiors.
• Flexible utility: Kia cars are available and ready to serve multi-purposes. You can easily find a compact private car, full-size people carriers, or larger wheels for your corporate’s shipping affairs or even hybrid-electric vehicles to save the environment.
• Added values: Kia never stops to offer customers with extra assistance. Upgrades in air-con system, GPS navigation or pigeon area are the most obvious evidence for this.
• Reasonable pricing: With such aforementioned merits, Kia could totally ask for more but the company decides to stick with average price range, also offering attractive finance scheme so that more people can get access to these amazing products.

Kia pride is showcased both outside and inside models

>>> Enjoy pictures of latest Kia models below:

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5. Kia’s limits

Of course Kia cars aren’t flawless. Though some of these land vehicles are truly efficient and long-lasting, others might not score high in durability rank. Another drawback Kia needs to work harder to get rid of is its low fuel economy.

6. The end

Admittedly, Kia is too good for what it asks from buyers, but the brand still confronts certain stereotypes towards cars of South Korea, contrary to those from primary auto sources like Germany, Japan, Europe or America. However, we believe this company, with its potentials, will thrive exponentially to lead the automotive industry in mainstream-oriented segments.

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