Asia Motors, Ltd
Encyclopedia
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n motor vehicle manufacturer of large and medium duty trucks, special military vehicles, lightweight cars, civilian jeeps (a small jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
look-alike called the Rocsta and later the Retona), motor vehicle components, to include engines, and buses and mini-buses. Kia
Kia Motors
Kia Motors , headquartered in Seoul, is South Korea's second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over 1.4 million vehicles in 2010...
owned 28.28% of issued stock. The Fiat 124
Fiat 124
The Fiat 124 is a mid-sized family car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1966 and 1974. It was the replacement of the Fiat 1300 and Fiat 1500...
was produced under the name Fiat-KIA 124 by Asia Motors from 1970 to 1975. It was completely merged with Kia
Kia Motors
Kia Motors , headquartered in Seoul, is South Korea's second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over 1.4 million vehicles in 2010...
(itself by then owned by Hyundai
Hyundai Motor Company
Hyundai Motor Company is a Korean multinational automaker based in Seoul, South Korea which, along with Kia, comprises the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, the world's fourth largest automaker as of 2009. As of 2011, it is the world's fastest growing automaker for two years running...
) in 1999 and Asia Motors currently has no automobile production. The Rocsta's replacement, the Retona, was sold under the Kia brand.
The Australian Asia Motors distributors, now an independent company called Asia Motors Australia, continues to use the Asia Motors name but now sources its products elsewhere.
Large bus
- AM927 / AM937 / AM928 (city buses), AM929, AM939, AM949 (Gran Bird)Kia GranbirdThe Kia Granbird is a commercial bus manufactured by Kia Motors based on the Hyundai Aero-inspired platform and for a brief period of time by Asia Motors. Production started in 1994, and the exterior look stayed the same until a cosmetic update in 2007 for 2008...