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The story
In 1962, as one of the measures to comply its First Five-Year Economic Development Plan, the Korean government passed a law exempting from taxes imported parts to assemble KD cars locally. In 1965, as a result of these incentives, Asia Motor Industries was established in Gwangju through the financial support of entrepreneur Lee Mun-hwan. The company was initially manufacturing military vehicles, trucks and buses but soon it began negotiations with Fiat and in 1970 it started to assemble Fiat 124 models. It diversified into the SUV and heavy vehicles market, including large and medium duty trucks, special military vehicles, lightweight cars, civilian jeeps (a small jeep look-alike called the Rocsta and later the Retona), motor vehicle components, to include engines, and buses and mini-buses. In 1969, Asia Motors was acquired by Dongkuk Steel. In 1973, the South Korean government launched a plan to promote the production of low-cost cars for export. Asia Motors was unable to satisfy the plan's conditions, losing its car assembly permits, and was purchased by Kia in 1976, as the government promised Kia, in exchange of doing so, a monopoly of the military vehicle production for South Korea. In 1978, Asia Motors signed an agreement with Hino Motors of Japan with the aim of achieving economies of scale for its low-volume products. Hyundai in turn purchased Kia and the Asia brand was discontinued in 1999. The Rocsta's replacement, the Retona, was sold under the Kia brand.
Failed Brazilian production
In 1994, Asia Motors do Brasil, an independent importer of Asia vehicles, was established in Brazil. Asia Motors do Brasil achieved some sales success and, in 1996, it signed an agreement with the Brazilian government for building an assembly plant at Camaçari in exchange of tax exemptions for imported vehicles. The plant was never completed, and the unpaid taxes prevented Kia's parent company Hyundai from building a factory in the country until 2012, when the Brazilian justice determined Hyundai was not bound to pay them, as it was not related to the importer. The first Hyundai owned factory in Brazil was opened in 2012 in Piracicaba, having produced only the HB20 (including the HB20S notchback and the off-road themed HB20X derivatives) and the Creta, while Kia vehicles for sale in Brazil are all imported from South Korea and Uruguay.
From Wikipedia’s article on Asia Motors, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4