Kia
Kia Corporation, founded in 1944, is a South Korean automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul. Originally producing bicycle parts and later motorcycles and trucks, Kia has grown into one of the world’s leading carmakers. Since 1998, it has been part of the Hyundai Motor Group, the third-largest automobile group globally by sales.
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1944-06-09 |
| Legal Structure | Public |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Official website | https://kia.com |
Kia sells vehicles in more than 190 countries, operating through a network of subsidiaries, joint ventures, and dealers. The company is known for a wide range of models spanning compact cars, SUVs, and increasingly electric vehicles, such as the Kia EV6, EV9, and hybrid plug-in models. Its focus on design, affordability, and technology has positioned Kia as a strong competitor in both mass-market and EV segments.
As part of its digital strategy, Kia offers Kia Connect, a suite of connected car services available in multiple regions, including Europe, North America, and Asia. Kia Connect enables features such as remote vehicle monitoring, charging control, climate pre-conditioning, and over-the-air updates. The system is presented as a core element of Kia’s future mobility services.
Consumer-impact summary
Kia has explicitly designed Kia Connect as a closed platform. In 2025, the company added CAPTCHA-based authentication to its EU login process [1], which disrupted community integrations such as evcc, hyundai_kia_connect_api, Home Assistant, and others. These projects had previously enabled features such as retrieving the state of charge, smart charging with renewable energy, and integration into smart homes.
When asked about an official interface, Kia responded that “the Kia Connect ecosystem is designed as a closed platform” [2] and that “an implementation of a public API is currently not planned due to security concerns” [3].
Incidents
Security vulnerability (2024)
Researchers disclosed flaws in Kia’s European web portal that allowed remote control of vehicle functions, including unlocking doors, starting engines, and tracking location, using only a license plate number. The vulnerability was patched after disclosure [4][5].
See also
References
- ↑ https://github.com/Hyundai-Kia-Connect/hyundai_kia_connect_api/issues/855
- ↑ https://github.com/evcc-io/evcc/issues/23147#issuecomment-3229600956
- ↑ https://github.com/evcc-io/evcc/issues/23147#issuecomment-3233590258
- ↑ https://www.wired.com/story/kia-web-vulnerability-vehicle-hack-track/
- ↑ https://samcurry.net/hacking-kia