Some of them are already history, some of them continue to make one. We compiled a list of car brands from all over the world which names start with a “K” — those that affected the industry the most.
Cars beginning with K:
The letter ‘K’ isn’t often used as a first character in car names. Renault Kadjar, Daewoo Kamos, Skoda Kamiq & Ford KA are amongst the exceptions.
King Long
King Long is a Chinese bus manufacturer. The company has been creating passenger busses and vans since 1988, when it was founded in the Fujian province of China. Currently, they are selling 10 bus models in China and other countries of Asia.
Car brands that start with K:
There aren’t too many car companies, whose name starts with K. Kamaz, Karlmann King, Kenworth, Kia & KTM are the most prominent examples.
Karlmann King
Karlmann King is a powerful luxury SUV manufactured and developed by the Chinese company IAT Design. It’s prominent for a strongly futuristic design and that each exemplar is made custom for the buyer. It was first sold in 2017.
Popular cars that start with the letter K:
There aren’t too many cars that start with K. Kia K2700, Kia K2900 and Ford KT are counted among such, however.
Kamaz
Kamaz is originally a Soviet company founded in 1976. It’s a Russian company now, and, like before, they make sturdy trucks, busses, cars and many types of agricultural transport. They mostly operate in the former USSR space, as well as in some nearby countries. A while galloping horse has been their usual emblem for many years now.
Car brand names that start with K:
The major ones are Kia, Kamaz & so forth. The smaller brands include Kaipan, Koenigsegg, Kiira and Kantanka.
Keating
Keating is a brand of British supercars that was active in 2006-2021. Until going defunct, they’ve made 5 cars – all of average prominence. Keating TKR is their most famous model.
Karma Automotive
Karma Automotive is an American producer of electric & hybrid sports cars. The business was founded in 2014, and until 2021 they’ve released 5 fully-functioning cars. Several more are in development. The Revero and GS series are two of their most prominent lines of product. A blue button with silver framing has been their usual emblem for some years.
KTM
KTM is an Austrian manufacturer of motorcycles and sports cars (KTM X-Bow). In their current form, they started operations in 1992, and motorcycles for cross-country, off-road and other high-performance purposes have been their key product since then. They are used in motorsport a lot, where they won multiple prizes of high value. The emblem is just the black acronym written on some orange space.
Kenworth
Kenworth is an old American producer of trucks, active since 1923. Their key products are heavy trucks, long-haul trucks and also some heavy machinery. It’s easily the most popular producer of such vehicles in America. They are also owned by Paccar, of note. Their emblem is usually a red circle with the letters ‘K’ & ‘W’ etched in white onto it.
Kia Motors Corporation
Founded in 1944 in Korea (later South Korea), Kia Motors went from making bicycles to becoming one of the largest vehicle manufacturers in the country. Its intense overseas campaign helped to conquer conquering markets in Japan, Europe, and eventually the USA. The company merged with Hyundai in 1998. The Kia brand specializes in mainstream passenger vehicles and SUVs, from subcompacts to luxury large models, as well as hybrids and electric cars.
Keinath
Keinath, a German automotive brand established in 1983 by Horst Keinath, started with making a convertible Opel Monza, Opel Ascona, and the Vauxhall Cavalier Mark 2. The company’s own original GTR model, a convertible sports car with a hard roof. After a successful limited production period, the brand upgraded the vehicle to a 5.7-liter LS family V8 engine and switched to mass production in 2000. The company operates independently to this day.
Koenigsegg
Established in 1994 in Sweden, this brand was a brainchild of the 22 years old Christian von Koenigsegg. The initial goal — to create luxury and exclusive supercars — proved to be successful. Each Koenigsegg vehicle is manufactured on demand, with each customer configuring their own version of the desired model. In 2005 Koenigsegg’s CCR was named the fastest production car in the world (388km/h), and soon received an even more powerful upgrade, CCXR. Practically every model the company has come up with so far (like Trevita, Agera, The One:1, and many more) has received high praise within the industry.
Kaiser
Kaiser Industries was one of the most prominent US manufacturers of the automotive industry’s golden era. It was founded by Henry J. Kaiser and Joseph W. Frazer in Michigan and spawned multiple brands. Over the next 20 years, the manufacturers introduced several passenger vehicle models with several car body type models, including Kaiser sedans, Frazer sedans and hatchbacks, Darrin (the first-ever fiberglass sports vehicle in America), Willys hardtop and sedans, Jeep (military and civilian), Allstate sedans, and Henry J., a compact economy sedan. In 1963 the company (then known as Kaiser Jeep) was sold to American Motors.
Koenig Specials
Germany-based tuning house Koenig Specials has made its name by modifying luxury passenger cars. Their notable work on several Ferrari vehicles in the 1980s —
such as completely reworking Ferrari 348 and granting it twin turbos — caused both controversy and praise. Koenig Specials doesn’t work on full conversions anymore, but rather produces separate components.
Kaipan
Kaipan is a relatively small Czech automotive manufacturer specializing mainly in roadster production. It’s the first-ever vehicle, Kaipan 47, which drew inspiration from a British car Lotus Seven, and is produced to this day. All 5 of the current Kaipan models possess original bodywork and Ford, Honda, or VW engines.
Kantanka
Kantanka is a Ghanaian company that specializes in both assembling and manufacturing vehicles. The company manufactures both sedans and four-wheelers, in a total number of 8 models as of 2021. Karnataka is also known for tuning civilian cars and motorcycles, adding military-esque hardware and armor, as well as creating combat exoskeletons for such vehicles.
Kieft
Kieft Cars, a UK company established by Cyril Kieft, was notable for creating Formula 1, Formula Three, and motor racing vehicles. It gained notoriety for its fiberglass-bodied sport-racers chosen by quite a few champions. The company was sold in 1954, and after six years of operating as a tuning house, was sold again, adopting a new name of Burmans.
Kaditcha
Kaditcha was an Australian, Queensland-based automotive company created by a notorious McLaren engineer Barry Lock. It specialized in manufacturing open-wheelers and sport racing vehicles, supplying Australian Sports Car Championship, Formula 2, Formula Pacifican, and Formula 5000. The brand’s most famous car is considered to be Kaditcha K583, the first-ever closed-top Group A Sports Car in the country. It was renamed Romano WE84 after helping Bap Romano win ASCC in 1984.
Karmann
For more than a hundred years Karmann, or Wilhelm Karmann GmbH, remained the largest automotive manufacturing German company. Its specialty varied from producing components to creating designs for such giants as Volkswagen, Mercedes, Porsche, Nissan, Renault, Ford, and Chrysler. Its most famous and successful model is undeniably the VW Karmann Ghia Type 14. Karmann had been eventually acquired by Volkswagen and has so far produced several VW and Porsche models.
Keller
The Keller Motors Corporation was an automotive manufacturing company based in Huntsville, AL in the US. Albeit short-lived, it made a lasting impression on the industry, mainly thanks to its hallmark, the Keller car. The model was a reimagined version of a Bobbi-Kar, with only 18 cars produced. Keller vehicles are currently sought after in car collector circles.
Kish Khodro
Kish Khodro was one of the most famous Iranian-based automotive manufacturers. Its initial goal per launch was to create a car model named Sinad. The car was released in several versions with Renault powertrains. In total around 1800 items were released.
Kissel
The Kissel Motor Car Company, known simply as the Kissel, was a Wisconsin-based and family-owned automotive manufacturer. It was known for producing a variety of vehicle types, starting from regular passenger cars to hearses, cabs, and fire trucks. Kissel has also supplied the US military with trucks during World War II. One of the most iconic models ever created by the brand was a speedster called Gold Bug, adored by celebrities.
Kleinschnittger
A German-based car manufacturer Kleinschnittger was a short-lived brand which specialized in microcars. It is known for creating at least three aluminum-bodied models with single-cylinder two-cycle engines. Their top speed reached 70 km/ h. It is also speculated that the company used to release its Kleinschnittger F125 under the Kleinstwagen name in Belgium.
Knox
Knox Automobile Company was one of the manufacturers from the dawn of the automotive industry in the US. It specialized mainly on three and four-wheeler runabouts, later adding tractors and trucks. The company also offered more affordable pricing. Perhaps the most well known Knox vehicle was a tractor-trailer with an air-cooled cylinder, nicknamed the “Old Porcupine.”
Korvensuu
Korvensuu was the name of the first-ever Finland-produced car made by a small company owned by Frans Lindström. It was the first-ever car manufactured in this country. Mass production of Korvensuu was never the goal: the owners intended to use the vehicle as an example of the company’s abilities. It had a 10hp air-cooled engine and a Torpedo body with two seats. Almost all of the few manufactured Korvensuu cars have been lost.
