Kia Corporation
Acquisitions
3
Major Deals Covered
$1.2B
Disclosed Deal Value
Kia's largest disclosed acquisition here is Boston Dynamics (joint acquisition) for $880M in 2021. This page covers 3 major deals from 1976 to 2022, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asia Motors | 1976 | Undisclosed | Kia acquired Asia Motors, a Korean maker of buses, trucks and military vehicles, to expand its commercial vehicle range and production capacity. |
| 42dot Technologies | 2022 | $328.0M | Acquired autonomous driving software and Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) mobility startup 42dot alongside Hyundai Motor Group for approximately KRW 427.6 billion (~$328 million). |
| Boston Dynamics (joint acquisition) | 2021 | $880.0M | Acquired an 80% controlling stake in world-renowned robotics leader Boston Dynamics from SoftBank for $880 million (valuing the company at $1.1 billion) in partnership with Hyundai Motor Group. |
2022
$328M
Acquired autonomous driving software and Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) mobility startup 42dot alongside Hyundai Motor Group for approximately KRW 427.6 billion (~$328 million).
Became the core operating system and software architecture center for Kia's upcoming connected vehicle lineup.
Formed Hyundai-Kia Global Software Center.
2021
$880M
Acquired an 80% controlling stake in world-renowned robotics leader Boston Dynamics from SoftBank for $880 million (valuing the company at $1.1 billion) in partnership with Hyundai Motor Group.
Gave Kia and Hyundai pioneering mobile robotics, quadrupeds (Spot), and humanoid warehouse automation technology.
Deployed automated robotics across Kia automotive component factories and assembly lines.
1976
Kia acquired Asia Motors, a Korean maker of buses, trucks and military vehicles, to expand its commercial vehicle range and production capacity.
Asia Motors added heavy commercial and defense vehicles to Kia's lineup. It was fully merged into Kia in 1999 after Hyundai's takeover.
It became Kia's commercial and military vehicle business. Kia's defense vehicle line comes from it.
Kia's current strategy, set out at the 2026 CEO Investor Day, uses several powertrains instead of only EVs. It plans to grow EVs (EV3, EV4, EV5, EV6, EV9 and later models) and hybrids together, add a PBV line of modular electric vans starting with the PV5, and build up software-defined vehicles, autonomous driving and robotics as longer-term businesses. By 2030 it is targeting 1.02 million sales in the US and 746,000 in Europe, along with growth in India and other emerging markets.
Kia makes money mainly by building and selling vehicles wholesale to its regional sales subsidiaries, importers and franchised dealers, which then sell to retail and fleet buyers. SUVs and RVs such as the Sportage, Sorento, Seltos, Carnival and Telluride make up most of the mix and earn more per unit than small sedans. Parts, accessories, service and connected-car subscriptions (Kia Connect) bring in further revenue from cars already on the road. Kia shares platforms, powertrains, the 800-volt E-GMP EV architecture and many suppliers with Hyundai Motor, which spreads engineering costs across both brands. Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai WIA are its biggest related-party suppliers: Kia's 2025 transactions with them were about $6.67 billion (KRW 9.4 trillion) and ~$2.63 billion (KRW 3.7 trillion). Hyundai Capital provides much of the retail and dealer financing. A newer line of business is purpose-built vehicles (PBVs), starting with the PV5 electric van, which are sold to businesses for delivery, ride-hailing and fleet use.
During the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, heavily indebted Kia Motors entered bankruptcy. In 1998, Hyundai Motor Company won an international competitive auction, acquiring a 51% controlling stake in Kia, forming the Hyundai Motor Group.
Kia acquired South Korean commercial truck and military vehicle manufacturer Asia Motors in 1976. In 1999, following Hyundai's takeover, Asia Motors was fully merged into Kia Corporation, creating Kia's specialized commercial truck and defense vehicle division.
Hyundai Motor Group took a controlling stake in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank in 2021. The stake was held mainly by Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Glovis and Euisun Chung, not Kia, though Kia's 2030 plan lists robotics as a future business.
In March 2020, Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv established Motional, a $4 billion autonomous driving joint venture headquartered in Boston, developing SAE Level 4 autonomous robotaxis and driverless mobility software integrated into Kia vehicles.
Hyundai Motor Group, including Kia, joined IONITY as a shareholder in 2019, alongside BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Volkswagen Group. IONITY is a European high-power charging network.
In 2023, Kia, Hyundai, BMW, GM, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis established IONNA, a joint venture investing billions of dollars to deploy over 30,000 high-power DC fast-charging ports equipped with NACS and CCS connectors across North America.
Kia made major strategic equity investments in Southeast Asian super-app Grab and Indian ride-hailing leader Ola, deploying specialized Kia EV fleets and gathering driver usage data to optimize its Purpose-Built Vehicle (PBV) platform.
Kia and Hyundai Motor Group established multi-billion-dollar joint venture battery manufacturing facilities with LG Energy Solution in Indonesia and Georgia (US), and with SK On in Bartow County, Georgia, securing dedicated lithium-ion battery cells for its E-GMP electric vehicles.
Before being acquired by Hyundai in 1998, Kia executed its own strategic acquisitions. In 1976, they bought Asia Motors (a South Korean manufacturer of heavy commercial and military vehicles). This acquisition allowed Kia to dominate the highly lucrative defense sector, building massive tactical transport vehicles for the South Korean military.
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