What Country Is Kia Motors From? What That Means For Motor Laminations In Modern EV Programs

Short answer first. Kia Motors (now Kia Corporation) is from South Korea. The company began in 1944 in Seoul under the name Kyungsung Precision Industry and it still operates with a strong South Korean identity as part of Hyundai Motor Group. Kia builds vehicles in Korea and around the world. That distinction matters because the origin of a brand is not the same as where individual components get manufactured or assembled. You see the same dynamic in electric machines. The country of origin for a brand sits alongside a global supply chain for critical components like motor core laminations.

You are likely here for a technical reason though. You want to understand how lamination material, thickness, and manufacturing choices affect motor performance, cost, and reliability. You need clear guidance so you can move a design forward or validate a supplier. You are in the right place.

Below I use a practical, engineering lens. I give a quick primer on core losses. I walk through materials and manufacturing processes. I map choices to applications including automotive traction drives used by global automakers such as Kia. Then I wrap with a concise checklist you can use with your team or supplier.

In a few places I reference Kia’s South Korean roots and Hyundai Motor Group. That context supports procurement and global operations planning. It also answers the search question plainly. Kia is a South Korean automaker with global manufacturing and a deepening focus on EVs like the EV6 and Niro, which rely on high quality motor laminations.

In This Article

• Why Lamination Decisions Are Critical For Your Motor
• Understanding Core Losses: Eddy Currents And Hysteresis
• Material Choices For Laminations And When To Use Them
• Manufacturing And Assembly Processes That Drive Cost And Performance
• “Which Application Is This For?” Match The Stack To The Job
• Case Study Context: Kia’s South Korean Origin And Global Manufacturing
• Procurement And DFM Checklist For Confident Sourcing
• Your Engineering Takeaway And Next Steps

Why Lamination Decisions Are Critical For Your Motor

If you build rotating machines you fight a constant two front war. You want higher efficiency and power density. You also need predictable cost and stable supply. Motor core laminations sit at the center of that fight.

Change lamination thickness and you change eddy current losses. Pick a different electrical steel and you shift hysteresis behavior and saturation margin. Choose stamping rather than laser and you affect burrs, edge damage, and stack factor. Select bonding instead of interlocking and you alter mechanical stiffness and acoustic behavior. Each lever moves efficiency, thermal headroom, NVH, and cost. You cannot treat laminations as a commodity line item. Not if you care about performance or warranty risk.

If you work on an EV traction drive this gets even sharper. Fast switching inverters push high electrical frequency content into the stator teeth and back iron. High mechanical speeds raise fundamental electrical frequency. The lamination stack becomes a major loss element. You either control it or it controls you.

A quick reference if you want to go deeper later. The physics behind core losses are well established in the IEC 60404 series and in many IEEE papers. Non oriented electrical steels are covered by EN 10106. Grain oriented steels are covered by EN 10107. You do not need to memorize standard numbers to make good choices. You do need to understand what drives loss and how your manufacturing choices change the field performance of your machine.

Understanding Core Losses: Eddy Currents And Hysteresis

Let’s demystify the two big buckets of core loss. Then we will talk about practical levers you can pull.

• Eddy current loss. A changing magnetic field induces circulating currents in the steel. Those little loops act like unwanted heaters inside your core. The magnitude goes up with the square of both frequency and flux density. It also scales with the square of lamination thickness. That is why thinner, well insulated laminations cut eddy losses sharply.

• Hysteresis loss. Every time you swing the magnetic field the domains inside the steel flip. That flip is not free. The energy lost each cycle shows up as heat. Hysteresis loss scales roughly linearly with frequency and increases with flux density depending on the material’s B-H curve and coercivity. Lower coercivity steels lose less energy each cycle.

An analogy helps. Picture a river with whirlpools. Eddy currents behave like those whirlpools. Big undisturbed sheets of steel let large whirlpools form. Thin, insulated laminations break the river into shallow channels. The whirlpools shrink and they waste less energy. Hysteresis is different. Imagine flipping a row of tiny compass needles back and forth. Some materials let the needles swing easily. Others resist and waste energy with every flip.

The role of thickness and insulation

• Thickness. If you halve lamination thickness you cut eddy current loss by roughly a factor of four at the same flux and frequency. That is powerful. You also raise tooling complexity and part count per stack which affects cost and throughput. You balance these effects.

• Interlaminar insulation. An oxide or organic coating on each sheet raises electrical resistance between laminations. Higher resistance limits circulating current loops that try to hop across layers. Coatings come in classes with different dielectric strength, cure profiles, and weldability. Pick a coating that fits your stack method and your thermal process.

Magnetic properties that matter

• Permeability. Think of this as how easily the material lets magnetic field lines pass, like how a sponge drinks in water. Higher permeability means less magnetizing current for a given flux.

• Saturation flux density. This caps your peak torque moment and power density. Non oriented silicon steels offer a good balance of saturation and loss for rotating machines. Cobalt alloys push saturation even higher at a cost.

• Coercivity. This is the resistance to demagnetization. Lower coercivity reduces hysteresis loss and helps with efficiency at your operating flux swing.

• B-H curve shape. The steeper the knee the less comfortable you feel pushing flux at high load. You want margin so you do not wander into saturation at temperature.

Frequency and temperature

• Frequency. Higher electrical frequency pushes both eddy and hysteresis losses up. Your lamination thickness and material choice must respect your inverter switching, slot harmonic content, and mechanical speed.

• Temperature. Magnetic properties shift with temperature. Loss coefficients change. So does saturation. Build a model with temperature curves from your steel supplier if your duty cycle runs hot.

If you want a deeper primer with design context look at the classic Steinmetz-like loss decomposition used in many IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications papers. You do not need textbook equations to specify a stack. You do need to know which knob moves which loss contribution.

For more background on how the stack impacts performance see this overview of motor core laminations.

Material Choices For Laminations And When To Use Them

Your material choice sets the baseline for magnetic performance and loss. Then thickness and manufacturing tune the result.

Non oriented electrical steels (NOES)

This is the workhorse family for rotating machines. NOES has near isotropic magnetic properties in the sheet plane. Silicon content typically sits between about 1 and 3.5 percent by weight which raises resistivity and lowers hysteresis loss relative to plain carbon steel. Suppliers publish loss and permeability curves at standard test points. You compare grades at your target frequency and induction.

• Pros. Balanced magnetic performance for motors. Established supply chains. Many thickness options. Coatings tailored for bonding, welding, or interlocking.

• Cons. Loss and saturation performance lags cobalt alloys. Very thin gauges raise cost and handling challenges.

• Typical use. Industrial IE3/IE4 motors, automotive traction motors, pumps, compressors, BLDC and PMSM machines across power ranges.

If you need a refresher on material families and formats check the overview on electrical steel laminations.

Cobalt-iron alloys

Add cobalt to push saturation flux density higher which enables more torque and power for a given geometry. You pay for it in both material cost and machining difficulty.

• Pros. High saturation for high power density designs. Useful in aerospace, motorsports, high speed machines.

• Cons. Premium price. Harder to stamp. Supply risk relative to standard NOES.

• Typical use. Turbo machinery, aerospace actuators, specialty traction where power density is everything.

Amorphous and nanocrystalline

These materials deliver very low core loss at high frequency in transformers and inductors. They are brittle and come in thin ribbon forms which complicates motor stack manufacturing. Some research machines use them. Production adoption remains limited for rotating machines due to cost and manufacturability.

• Pros. Extremely low loss at high frequency.

• Cons. Form factor and mechanical brittleness. Higher cost. Limited mainstream motor adoption.

Powdered iron and soft magnetic composites

These 3D molded materials suit complex flux paths in small machines and allow integrated forms that sheet stacks cannot achieve. They carry lower permeability and saturation limits compared to steel sheets. Loss at high frequency is better than solid steel due to distributed insulation in the matrix.

• Pros. Geometric freedom. Integrate cooling and structure. Good for small BLDC motors and actuators.

• Cons. Lower magnetic performance than NOES. Not the first choice for traction drives.

Thickness selection guidelines

• 0.50 mm class. Mature industrial motors with base frequencies at 50 or 60 Hz.

• 0.35 mm class. A common balance for automotive traction and industrial variable speed drives.

• 0.27 mm class. Higher speed and lower loss targets in premium drives.

• 0.20 mm and thinner. High speed or very low loss targets where cost and handling complexity are justified.

Your vendor will quote thickness tolerance, flatness, and coating type. Ask for the loss curves at your intended frequency and peak induction rather than only standard test points.

Manufacturing And Assembly Processes That Drive Cost And Performance

Material choice sets the stage. Manufacturing decides how much of that theoretical performance you keep.

Stamping with progressive dies

High volume programs live here. Progressive stamping delivers throughput, repeatability, and tight tolerances at scale. You invest in tooling then you benefit from low cycle time.

• Pros. Best for cost at volume. Low burrs with tuned tooling. Consistent tooth geometry and slot widths. Optimized grain dispersion through tool nesting.

• Cons. Tooling cost and lead time. Design changes after tool cut are expensive.

• What to watch. Burr height and roll-over at edges. Typical specs hold burrs to tens of microns if the die is maintained. Edge work hardening raises local losses so control it with sharp tooling and adequate lubrication. Validate stack factor since coating thickness and mechanical joining affect copper fill.

Laser cutting

Great for prototypes and low to medium volumes. It shines when you need design agility or complex shapes. It introduces a heat affected zone that can raise local core loss. You can mitigate with process tuning. Some projects add a stress relief anneal when the coating permits it.

• Pros. Flexible. No hard tooling. Suitable for complex geometries and quick turns.

• Cons. HAZ and edge recast can increase losses. Slower than stamping at volume. Part-to-part variation is higher without tight process control.

• What to watch. Document acceptable HAZ width and ensure repeatability across suppliers. Review coating integrity after cutting.

Wire EDM and fine blanking

Wire EDM provides excellent precision and low mechanical stress. It is slow but useful for small runs and tight features. Fine blanking can improve edge quality relative to conventional stamping in some cases.

• Pros. Precision and low burrs.

• Cons. Throughput and cost at scale.

Stacking and joining methods

How you turn loose laminations into a stator or rotor core matters. Each method changes mechanical stiffness, acoustic response, and magnetic performance.

• Interlocking. Tabs formed during stamping lock adjacent laminations. Think LEGO bricks that snap together. It avoids extra materials. It can reduce stacking factor and introduce local stress.

• Welding. Spot or seam welding locks stacks with high stiffness. Heat can degrade insulation locally. Use weld schedules that respect coating class and then verify local loss.

• Riveting and cleating. Mechanical fasteners add strength without thermal damage. They cost assembly time and can affect magnetic symmetry.

• Bonding and backlack. Coated steels with built-in thermoset resin bond under heat and pressure. You get excellent stiffness and low acoustic noise without welds. You also get high stacking factors because the adhesive layer is thin and uniform. Process control is critical since cure profiles drive final properties.

For reference on specific subassemblies see these concise explainers on stator core lamination and rotor core lamination.

Tolerances and quality controls that matter

• Burr height. Control it and measure it. Excess burrs bridge insulation and create interlaminar shorts that raise eddy losses.

• Concentricity and runout. Rotor-stator air gap tolerance drives torque ripple and acoustic noise.

• Slot geometry. Tooth tips and slot opening radii change harmonic content and loss.

• Stacking factor. This is the ratio of steel height to total stack height. High stacking factors mean more active steel and better copper fill. Bonding methods typically improve it.

• Coating integrity. Insulation must hold through cutting and forming. Measure interlaminar resistance and dielectric breakdown where needed.

• Heat treatment. Some processes allow stress relief anneal. Many automotive programs avoid post-stack thermal steps to protect magnets or coatings. Plan your process around those constraints.

“Which Application Is This For?” Match The Stack To The Job

No single recipe fits every motor. Use this quick guide to match materials and processes to your application.

Industrial motors at 50/60 Hz

• Material. Standard NOES like M19-class grades deliver reliable performance.

• Thickness. 0.50 mm works for efficiency targets at line frequency. Move to 0.35 mm for premium IE4 levels.

• Manufacturing. Progressive stamping with interlocking or welds suits volume. Bonding improves noise and rigidity in premium lines.

• Notes. Validate loss at your specific induction. Line motors often see high flux swings at startup which pushes hysteresis contribution.

EV and hybrid traction motors

• Material. Premium NOES with low core loss at 400 Hz to 1 kHz electrical frequencies plus harmonic content from PWM. Some designs push thinner gauges down to 0.27 mm or even 0.20 mm for high speed rotors and compact stators.

• Thickness. 0.35 mm remains common in cost sensitive programs. 0.27 mm reduces eddy losses for high rpm machines and fast-switching inverters.

• Manufacturing. High volume progressive stamping with bonding or laser-welded stacks. Backlack coatings offer strong stiffness and high stacking factor. Control HAZ if you laser cut prototypes or pilot builds.

• Notes. Pay attention to mechanical balancing and runout. The rotor sees high centrifugal loads. Rotor sleeve or banding interacts with lamination tolerances. Thermal rise at peak load hinges on core loss which the lamination set dominates at higher speeds.

Small BLDC and PMSM machines for pumps, fans, e-bikes, robotics

• Material. NOES with appropriate thickness for frequency. Some designs use soft magnetic composites to enable 3D flux in compact geometries.

• Thickness. 0.35 mm down to 0.20 mm depending on speed and size.

• Manufacturing. Laser cutting suits low volume and fast iteration. Move to stamping at volume. Adhesive bonding or interlocking both work if you meet stiffness and NVH targets.

Specialty high speed machines and aerospace actuators

• Material. Cobalt-iron alloys when you need maximum saturation and power density. Expect higher cost and stricter process controls.

• Thickness. Thin gauges in the 0.20 mm range to control eddy loss at very high frequency.

• Manufacturing. High precision stamping or EDM. Bonding for stiffness and low vibration.

Transformers and inductors

• Material. Grain oriented silicon steel for transformers. Amorphous or nanocrystalline for very low loss at high frequency. Motors use non oriented grades. Do not mix them without a clear reason and a proven design.

If your application is a BLDC or IPMSM with automotive requirements you will likely use a NOES stator stack with thin laminations and robust bonding. The rotor stack has different mechanical and magnet integration constraints. Build those into your DFMEA early so they do not surprise you late.

Case Study Context: Kia’s South Korean Origin And Global Manufacturing

You asked where Kia Motors is from. The answer is South Korea. That fact brings a useful lens when you plan global supply for traction motor laminations.

A brief but relevant history:

• Founding and identity. Kia launched in 1944 in Seoul under Kyungsung Precision Industry. It moved from bicycle parts to motorcycles and then to cars. Headquarters sit in Seoul. Domestic manufacturing anchors include Gwangmyeong (Sohari), Hwaseong, and Gwangju. These plants form the backbone of Korean production and export.

• Hyundai Motor Group connection. During the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis Kia faced bankruptcy. Hyundai Motor Company acquired a controlling stake in 1998. Today Kia sits inside Hyundai Motor Group which ranks among the top global automakers by volume. The group shares platforms and technology across brands like Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. You see the impact in EV architectures that use common inverters and motor topologies.

• Global footprint. Kia manufactures not only in Korea but also in West Point, Georgia in the USA, Žilina in Slovakia, Pesquería in Mexico, and Anantapur in India. Production in China, Vietnam, Pakistan, and the Philippines supports regional markets. This reduces logistics cost and import duties. It also means a Kia model can be assembled outside Korea while the brand remains South Korean at its core.

• Model examples. EV6 and Niro highlight the move to electric vehicles. Sportage, Sorento, Seltos, Telluride, K5, and Carnival represent a broad SUV and sedan range. Each platform has specific motor requirements which flow down to lamination material and thickness choices.

Why does this matter to you if you source laminations or design motors

• Origin versus assembly. A Kia assembled in Georgia may draw lamination steel from Korea, Europe, or North America. Your supply chain must manage material specs and quality across regions without drifting from the intended performance. The same is true for any global OEM whether you supply Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, or GM.

• Standards and validation. Hyundai Motor Group and Kia enforce rigorous validation like PPAP for automotive components. Lamination suppliers must show statistical control on burr height, interlaminar resistance, stack factor, and core loss. That is true in Seoul and in Slovakia. You should expect the same disciplines even if your program runs under a different badge.

• Technology direction. Kia’s “Movement that Inspires” brand shift and Hyundai’s aggressive EV roadmap push traction motor R&D. Expect continued focus on low loss NOES, thinner gauges, better bonding resins, and precise rotor stack machining. If you design for this ecosystem you will see these requirements in your spec sheets.

• Sustainability and ESG. Many OEMs publish sustainability targets. Lamination manufacturing touches energy use, scrap rates, and coating chemistries. Global brands track these metrics. Your process choices influence your customer’s ESG reporting which can affect award decisions.

By the way, if a stakeholder asks again where Kia is from you can answer without hesitation. Kia is a South Korean brand with headquarters in Seoul and domestic plants in Gwangmyeong, Hwaseong, and Gwangju. It is part of Hyundai Motor Group. It also builds vehicles in the USA, Europe, Mexico, and India. Country of origin differs from country of assembly. The same distinction applies when you specify the country of origin for your electrical steel or the plant that assembles your lamination stacks.

Procurement And DFM Checklist For Confident Sourcing

Use this checklist to drive a productive conversation with a lamination supplier. It helps engineers, product designers, and procurement managers align on requirements.

Material and data

• Material grade. Specify the standard and vendor grade. Ask for loss and permeability curves at your application frequency and flux density. Do not rely only on catalog points measured at 50 or 60 Hz.

• Thickness and tolerance. Call out nominal thickness with tolerance and flatness. Confirm available gauges during sourcing since thin gauges have longer lead times.

• Coating type. Define insulation coating class that matches your joining method. Confirm dielectric strength and cure profile if you plan bonding or backlack.

• Temperature behavior. Request data for magnetic properties versus temperature including loss coefficients and saturation change.

• Compliance. Reference applicable standards like IEC 60404 characterization and EN 10106 for non oriented sheet. Align on test methods and fixtures.

Cutting and edge quality

• Process. State stamping, laser, EDM, or fine blanking. Develop prototype with the process you plan for production whenever possible.

• Burr height. Set a numeric limit per edge and a sampling plan. Establish how burrs are measured. Define deburring if allowed and how you verify coating integrity after deburr.

• HAZ control. If you laser cut then specify acceptable HAZ width and verification method. Consider a pilot build correlation where you compare core loss from laser cut parts to stamped parts.

Stacking and joining

• Method. Interlocking, welding, rivets, or bonding. Align with coating choice from the start.

• Stacking factor. Set a minimum and verify with coupon measurements. Recognize bonding often delivers the best stacking factor since adhesive layers are thin and uniform.

• Mechanical stiffness and NVH. Define stiffness targets and acoustic limits if relevant. Bonded stacks usually shine here.

• Heat exposure. Define any post-stack thermal steps like resin curing. Ensure magnet integration and insulation coatings can handle the profile.

Dimensional and functional checks

• Concentricity and runout. Specify tolerances for stator ID/OD and rotor OD to protect your air gap.

• Slot and tooth tolerances. Define what matters most for your winding method and thermal management.

• Core loss acceptance. Use a standardized test method and induction level. Decide whether you test single tooth rings or assembled stacks. Control sample orientation if you use anisotropic materials.

• Traceability. Require lot-level traceability from coil to finished stack. Automotive programs often need PPAP with full dimensional and material certs.

Supply chain and logistics

• Regional sourcing. Align material and process availability in your final assembly region. Confirm lead times and buffer strategies.

• Capacity and scalability. Validate how the supplier scales from prototypes to pilots to series production. Tool maintenance plans keep burrs low and geometry stable.

• Sustainability. Ask for energy use per kg of laminations, scrap rates, and any environmental certifications. Many OEMs now include these in sourcing scorecards.

If you work on BLDC architectures the stator often drives most of the optimization since it holds the winding and sees higher loss density. For background on stators and BLDC stack design see the primer on bldc stator core.

Your Engineering Takeaway And Next Steps

Key points you can carry into your next design review:

• Country of origin and country of assembly are different. Kia is a South Korean brand with global manufacturing. Apply the same thinking to your lamination supply chain.

• Core losses come from eddy currents and hysteresis. Thickness and insulation attack eddy losses. Material selection and coercivity reduce hysteresis.

• NOES serves most motors including EV traction drives. Cobalt alloys help in extreme power density applications. Amorphous and nanocrystalline materials suit transformers and select high frequency inductors not mainstream motor stacks.

• Manufacturing choices matter. Stamping is king at volume. Laser and EDM shine for prototyping and complex shapes. Edge quality, burrs, and HAZ control protect magnetic performance.

• Joining method changes stiffness, noise, and stacking factor. Bonding and backlack coatings offer strong stiffness and low acoustic noise when you control process variables.

• Spec what you measure. Call out burr height, core loss test conditions, stacking factor, and coating class. Ask for temperature dependent magnetic data.

Actionable next steps:

1) Define your operating frequency spectrum and peak induction with realistic duty cycles. Do not spec at 50 Hz if you run at 800 Hz.

2) Down select lamination materials to two or three grades with thickness options that fit your loss targets and cost band.

3) Build prototype stacks using the intended production process. Measure core loss at your operating points and compare to vendor curves.

4) Lock a joining method and coating pair early. Validate stiffness, NVH, and stacking factor on coupon builds.

5) Align with procurement on regional sourcing and lead times. Verify supplier quality systems, PPAP readiness, and traceability.

6) Document everything in a clear spec. Then share test data with your supplier. You will cut risk and save months.

If you want a concise overview you can share with a cross-functional team see the summaries linked above. For deeper dives on specific stack types and transformer-specific cores you can also review transformer lamination core and related resources when your scope crosses into magnetic devices beyond motors.

References and standards worth consulting

• IEC 60404 series for magnetic materials measurement methods and definitions.
• EN 10106 for non oriented electrical steel sheet and strip delivered fully processed.
• EN 10107 for grain oriented electrical steel sheet delivered fully processed.
• IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications and IEEE Transactions on Magnetics for core loss modeling and empirical validation in rotating machines.
• Supplier data sheets from established mills which include loss versus frequency and induction plus temperature dependence.

Final note on the original question. If someone on your team asks “What country is Kia Motors from” during a supplier review you can answer crisply. Kia is a South Korean automotive brand headquartered in Seoul and part of Hyundai Motor Group. It builds vehicles in South Korea and in countries like the United States, Slovakia, Mexico, and India. The origin story is Korean. The manufacturing footprint is global. Your lamination sourcing should mirror that clarity. Define origin. Define process. Then deliver the performance your motor needs.