Hyundai and Kia were the top two most boycotted brands in 2019.
Hyundai and Kia are both South Korean automakers, but they’re owned by different companies. The Hyundai Motor Company owns the Hyundai brand, while Kia Motors Corporation owns the Kia brand. Hyundai is a much larger company than Kia, and it has been operating since 1967. It has a total of five production facilities in South Korea and 13 overseas production facilities, including one in Alabama that opened in 2005. The company also has another assembly plant in China that opened this year.
Kia Motors Corporation was founded as a spinoff of the Hyundai Motor Company in 1994. Its name is an abbreviation of its parent company’s name, which was originally spelled out as “Korea Industry Group” (Hangul: 고지엠주식회사). The first car to be produced by Kia was the Pride, which came out in November 1994. Since then, it has become one of the fastest growing automakers on Earth with sales increasing by 80% between 2010 and 2015 alone.
Hyundai, like many other major car manufacturers around the world, is currently facing a boycott from consumers due to its alleged involvement with human rights violations against Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.
