KIA, the only car marque with its headquarters in Kent, aims to drive up UK sales and become a top five manufacturer by end of the decade.

Kia Motors (UK) is based in Tunbridge Wells, where it has a workforce of around 35. The company, now part of Hyundai, recently took direct control of distribution of Kia cars in the UK.

N M Kim, president of Kia Motor Corporation, visited the Mount Ephraim HQ for the first time. He spoke to staff and motoring journalists, declaring the manufacturer's ambition to build on its current half of one per cent market share.

Mr Kim said 2002 would be a record sales year, with nearly a million vehicles produced. And the UK was a critical market.

"On a worldwide scale, our confidence is on a high right now," he said. "Our target for Europe is to increase our sales to 300,000 cars per year by 2005. This will mean 50,000 cars in the UK. These are very ambitious become a top five automobile manufacturer by the end of this decade."

Mr Kim's visit came just three months after the corporation took direct control of distribution of Kia cars in the UK. He said: “Kia is a company on the move, in the UK, in Europe and around the world. We are ambitious. We are focused. And we are going to surprise and delight you in the years to come.”

Kia Motors Corporation was founded in 1944 to make bicycles. This was followed in 1961 by a motorcycle and a year later a three-wheel truck, with a four-wheel cargo truck coming out in 1971. The first passenger car, the Brisa, emerged in 1974.

Mazda bought eight per cent of the company in 1983 and in 1986 Ford Motor Company took a 10 per cent share. In 1998, Hyundai took a 54 per cent stake, and Mazda and Ford were bought out.

Kia-Hyundai Group is the fourth largest Korean business corporation, with 30,000 employees worldwide. More than 50,000 Kia cars have been sold in the UK since 1991.