The Hyundai Motor Group has posted some wonderful images of a 1970s Kia Brisa. Last week in Part 1 of my “Rise of Kia” I shared the launch of the Brisa. Part 2 provides some more details on its success.
In the fall of 1974, the first Kia Brisa S-1000 four-door sedans rolled off the Sohari production line. ( A year earlier they had begun production of the Brisa pickup).
Overall the Brisa sedan was a success with 75,987 sold between 1974 and 1981.
In conjunction with the manufacturing of the Brisa sedan and Brisa pickup, Kia Motors also produced the vehicles’ 1-liter gas engines.
While the competition sourced engines from their foreign partners, this marked the first Korean company to manufacture its engines. In the first year of production, 65 percent of the parts in the Brisa, including the engine, drive shaft, and clutch, were manufactured in Korea. This local sourcing was strongly encouraged by the Korean Government and the ratio of locally produced parts increased steadily over the years.
Kia Motors would grow into Korea’s second-largest carmaker and would experience both international success and its demise under the 1997 financial crash —the latter leading to a “second chance” under parent company Hyundai Motor.
Source: Hyundai and Kia Motors The Early Years and Product Development Author Don Southerton