Do we like them?

Do we like Kia?

South Korean carmaker (Seoul) selling petrol, hybrid and electric cars and vans worldwide, including a big US business.

Our score: 4 out of 10. Mixed, leaning cautious. Regulators have repeatedly penalised it, with the US anti-theft failure the biggest recent case. Its cars sell well and its EV push is real, but we'd hold back.

Kia is a South Korean carmaker. It went bankrupt in the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and Hyundai Motor won the 1998 auction for it. Hyundai Motor still holds roughly a third of the shares, though Kia is listed on the Korea Exchange. Song Ho-sung has been CEO since 2020.

The biggest recent drama is car theft. In December 2025, 35 US attorneys general settled with Kia and Hyundai, saying they sold millions of cars without standard engine immobilizers. North Carolina's AG said thefts rose ten-fold between 2020 and 2023. The companies denied wrongdoing in the settlement.

The deal is modest in cash terms: $9m in total. Owners get free ignition-cylinder protectors, and victims can claim up to $4,500 if their car was totalled. Kia must also fit immobilizers on all US cars from now on. New Jersey's AG said the companies were slow to respond and only launched a software fix in 2023.

It's a pattern, not a one-off. In 2020 the US safety regulator NHTSA said Kia and Hyundai were too slow to recall engines that could fail, and that they misreported information. Kia's penalty was $70m in total, including $27m paid up front. In 2014 the EPA and the Justice Department settled with both over overstated fuel economy, with a $100m civil penalty.

On the bright side, Kia is selling plenty of cars. Kia America reported a sixth straight monthly sales record in October 2026. At its April 2026 investor day, Kia said it will grow its EV range to 14 models by 2030. We give it a 4: the cars are popular, but the safety, theft and emissions record is a worry.