Kia is celebrating its 80th birthday today, but what do you get the successful Korea carmaker that’s got everything? Not slippers, but a concept car that someone dreamed up in their lunch hour.
The company is holding a special ceremony to celebrate its anniversary, gathering luminaries from the firm as well as people who have contributed to its success for a bit of a knees up that involves a special film that’s been commissioned for the event and a performance from celebrated violinist Clara-Jumi Kang.
Not only that, but Kia’s going to be opening a new exhibition at its ‘employee training and strategy institute’, Kia Vision Square, in Yongin southeast of Seoul. The exhibition runs until 2029 and covers the company’s full history across eight zones, going all the way back to its founding in 1944 as Kyungsung Precision Industry by Kim Cheol-ho and presumably finishing with the opening of the exhibition.
But you’re right, we did mention a birthday concept car – the Kia Vision Meta Turismo has been revealed as part of the special occasion. Apparently the car “embodies Kia’s vision for a new era of mobility”, with an interior inspired by a lounge that combines with a dynamic driving performance to create a good old-fashioned grand tourer that looks to the future.
Kia CEO Ho Sung Song said that the occasion is an opportunity for the firm to look backwards and forwards. “Drawing on the lessons learned from compiling Kia’s 80-year history, we will reaffirm the spirit of determination that has driven us since our founding,” he said. “At the same time, we are committed to preserving and sharing our heritage, including intangible assets, as a driving force for the future.”
Could the concept car point the way to a future Kia model? Well, perhaps. We know that the Korean carmaker has trademarked the names of its cars from EV1 to EV9 and eagle eyed Kia fans will note that we’ve not seen anything of EVs 7 or 8 yet. The EV2 will be presented at the Brussels motor show in January and a glimpse of the new EV1 is set to follow later in 2026.
It’s rumoured that the company is preparing an electric powered successor to its Stinger (the four-door coupe that was sold from 2018 to 2023) that could take one of the spare badges.
In the meantime, stand back, because they’re starting to light the candles.
Good luck turning this thing on, but we do like the fancy augmented reality display in the windscreen 
