IRVINE, Calif. -

This past Saturday was a silver one for Hyundai Capital America as the captive finance company that does business as Hyundai Motor Finance and Kia Motors Finance celebrated its 25th anniversary and a quarter century in Orange County, Calif.

Originally formed as Hyundai Motor Finance Company in 1989, officials highlighted it was the fastest captive launch in U.S. history, achieving national coverage by the end of 1990.

While Hyundai Capital America has come a long way since its beginnings 25 years ago, including launching its Kia-branded financing label in 2004, officials insisted its impressive growth really occurred more recently.

By the end of 2005, Hyundai Capital America was a $1 billion company. Since then, it grew exponentially to more than 1 million customers and received its own investment-grade rating in 2012, and topped $20 billion in assets in 2013 — with half of that growth occurring in the preceding three years.

During that time, the company also opened two operations centers — one in Atlanta and one in Dallas — and expanded into its new headquarters building in Irvine, Calif.

According to the latest data from Experian Automotive, Hyundai Capital America ranked No. 12 among the top new-vehicle finance companies, holding 1.84 percent of the market.

As the company has grown in size, officials mentioned Hyundai Capital America has also significantly grown its functional expertise, offering career opportunities across 16 departments, including treasury, risk, credit and underwriting, sales, marketing, IT, and information protection functions.

Last year, the company launched a Hyundai-branded line of vehicle protection products, and this year lent its talent and expertise to help launch Hyundai Capital in Canada.

Hyundai Capital America employs more than 1,940 people nationwide (including temps and contractors), with 890 of them based in Orange County. The company is continuing to grow and hire with more than 200 openings, including 90 in Orange County.

“The company wishes to thank its partners, customers, and employees for a fantastic 25 years, and looks forward to continuing our journey together for many more years to come,” officials said.