| October 1991 | Kia Motors Corp. announces plans to enter U.S. marketplace. Kia announces first vehicle to be sold will be a four-door compact sedan, the Sephia, followed by a sport-utility vehicle, the Sportage. |
| January 1992 | Kia Motors Corp. announces that Greg Warner will be executive vice president and chief operating officer of its North American operations. |
| October 1992 | Kia Motors Corp. incorporates the U.S. subsidiary, Kia Motors America, Inc., and moves into temporary corporate offices in Irvine. |
| Oct. 20, 1992 | Kia begins year-long, 100,000-mile durability test of Sephia compact sedans. |
| February 1993 | H.R. Park named president of Kia Motors America. |
| April 1993 | Kia begins hiring employees; count reaches almost 130 by end of 1994. |
| August 1993 | Kia opens parts distribution center in Fullerton, Calif. |
| Aug. 16, 1993 | "Sephia" name is chosen for U.S. version of Kia's compact sedan. |
| Oct. 5, 1993 | Kia announces sale of 1,800 Sephia compact sedans to Budget Rent-A-Car for real-life product testing. |
| Nov. 5 1993 | Kia signs first 20 dealers to sell vehicles in U.S. |
| Jan. 7, 1994 | Kia announces price of Sephia compact sedan will begin at $8,495. |
| Jan. 7, 1994 | Kia announces Kia Extra-Mile Care to provide all Kia new-car owners with roadside assistance coverage and customer service 24 hours a day. |
| Feb. 3, 1994 | Kia Sephia goes on sale at four Portland-area dealers, marking Kia's official entry into the U.S. market. |
| Feb. 4, 1994 | Kia opens dealership in Las Vegas. |
| March 1994 | Kia opens 20 more dealerships in Seattle, Phoenix, Tucson, El Paso, Albuquerque, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Denver and Colorado Springs. |
| April 1994 | Kia Sephia outsells the Dodge Neon and Mazda Protoge in eight cities. |
| April 1994 | Kia opens another 21 dealerships in Spokane, Fresno, Reno, Sacramento, San Francisco, Bend, Boise, Medford, Pocatello and Twin Falls. |
| April 8, 1994 | Kia moves into corporate offices at 2 Cromwell in Irvine, Calif. |
| May 1994 | Kia opens 16 dealerships in Southern California. |
| July 1994 | Kia expands in Montana; total of 69 dealerships now operational. |
| August 1994 | Kia opens 12 more dealerships in Texas and Oklahoma, brining the number of dealerships to 81. |
| Sept. 23, 1994 | Greg Warner becomes first foreign employee appointed to Kia Motors Corp. board of directors. |
| December 1994 | Kia opens 88th dealership in Flagstaff, Ariz. |
| Jan. 3, 1995 | Kia dealers begin selling Sportage sport-utility vehicle. |
| February 1995 | Kia celebrates first anniversary of sales in the U.S. |
| February 1995 | Restyled 1995.5 Sephia goes on sale. |
| March 1995 | Kia's 100th dealership opens in Austin, Texas. |
| May 1995 | Kia opens dealerships in states of Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. |
| June 1995 | Kia opens dealerships in states of Florida and Georgia. Kia vehicles now available in 20 states. |
| August 1995 | More new dealerships open bringing total number to more than 140. |
| November 1995 | The Kia Sportage wins its class in the Baja 1000. Kia entered the same Sportage that completed the 1993 Paris-Dakar rally, becoming the first vehicle ever to complete both courses. Kia's theme for the Baja 1000: "Paris to La Paz." |
| Nov. 15, 1995 | Sportage named "Best of What's New" for 1995 by Popular Science. |
| February 1996 | Kia opens more than 30 dealerships in Florida, bringing total number of Kia dealerships to 170. |
| May 1996 | Kia dealers begin selling 1996 Sportage, boasting the industry's first knee airbag. |
| July 1996 | Kia sells its 50,000th vehicle in the United States. |
| July 1996 | Four Wheeler names the Sportage one of the 10 Best Buys in 4WD. |
| August 1996 | Kia opens dealerships in the states of North Carolina and South Carolina. Kia vehicles are now on sale at more then 200 dealerships in 22 states. |
| November 1996 | Sephia wins the 1996 SCAA PRO Rally production class championship, beating Honda Civic, Dodge Neon, Ford Escort, Suzuki Swift and Volkswagen Golf. |
| November 1996 | 1997 Sportage is rated the best buy among compact sport-utility vehicles according to the Men's Journal 1997 Buyer's Guide |
| November 1996 | Kia opens Eastern Region office in Mt. Laurel, N.J. |
| January 1997 | W.K. Kim joins Kia Motors America as president and chief executive officer. |
| January 1997 | Kia opens dealerships in Virginia and the Carolinas brining total dealership figures to 220 dealerships in 24 states. |
| March 1997 | Kia Sportage receives a Best Overall Value of the Year award from IntelliChoice, an independent research firm. |
| March 1997 | Kia Sephia completes 200,000-mile test against Corolla. Engine teardown results show Sephia with 81 percent of engine measurements within factory tolerance, while Corolla has only 66 percent. |
| April 1997 | Kia opens dealerships in the Mid-Atlantic states brining the total to 240 dealers in 25 states. |
| June 1997 | Kia launches in Pennsylvania, bringing total dealerships to 250 in 28 states. |
| July 1997 | Kia Sportage wins "Best Buy in 4WD" for the second year in a row from Four Wheeler magazine. |
| August 1997 | Kia sells its 100,00th vehicle in the United States. |
| August 1997 | Kia launches website (www.kia.com). |
| August 1997 | Kia opens dealerships in New York market, bringing total dealership count to just over 300 dealerships in 30 states. |
| August 1997 | Kia opens dealerships in New York market, bringing total dealership count to just over 300 dealerships in 30 states. |
| September 1997 | Kia announces best monthly sales performance since retail sales began in February 1994. Total sales were 7,123 vehicles: 4,733 Sephias and 2,390 Sportages. |
| November 1997 | In its first attempt, Kia Sportage wins Class 3 championship of SCORE Desert Championship Series, winning five of seven races and finishing every mile of every race. |
| December 1997 | Kia enjoys record sales for calendar year 1997 with total yearly sales volume of 55,325 vehicles. |
| March 10, 1998 | Greg Warner, executive vice president and chief operating officer dies of cardiac arrest triggered by an acute asthma attack. |
| April 2, 1998 | Dick Macedo, formerly vice president of marketing is named vice president of marketing and sales, assuming most of the responsibilities previously assigned to Greg Warner. |
| June, 1998 | Kia launches Sportage 2-Door Convertible, the brand's third U.S. model. |
| July 1998 | Kia Sportage wins Best Buy in 4WD for third year in a row from Four Wheeler magazine. |
| October 1998 | Hyundai Business Group named winning bidder for 51 percent of Kia Motors Corp. in auction conducted by Korea Development Bank after Kia had entered receivership. |
| November 1998 | Kia Sportage wins Class 3 championship of SCORE Desert Championship Series for second year in a row. |
| December 1998 | In its first attempt, Sportage clinches Class 3000 championship of Silver State Series, beating competitors such as Nissan Pathfinder and Jeep CJ-7. |
| December 1998 | Kia opens dealerships in Michigan in culmination of openings throughout the Midwest. This effectively makes Kia a nationally available brand with more than 500 dealerships in 49 states. |
| January 4, 1999 | B.M. Ahn assumes the role of president and CEO of Kia Motors America. |
| May, 1999 | Kia sells its 250,000th vehicle in the United States. |
| June, 1999 | Kia turns in its best sales month in history with sales of 13,593 vehicles. Kia ends the first half of calendar year 1999 as the fastest-growing automotive brand in the U.S. with a period-to-period sales increase of 59 percent. Total sales for the six months are 64,558, nearly 10,000 more than total sales for all of 1997. |
| August 1999 | Kia sells its 300,000th vehicle in the United States. |