Kia Motors Corp. will build its first U.S. assembly plant in West Point, Ga.
The factory is expected to produce 300,000 vehicles per year at maximum capacity, Kia said here on Monday.
Production is scheduled to begin in 2009. The plant will employ about 2,500 workers. Kia expects five or six suppliers to set up operations nearby, resulting in the creation of an additional 2,000 local jobs.
West Point is near the Georgia-Alabama border, southwest of Atlanta, off Interstate 85.
The plant will be the second U.S. plant to be opened by a Korean automaker. Hyundai Motor Co., which owns Kia, started production at its $1.1 billion Montgomery, Ala., plant in 2005.
"Kia Motors has entered an aggressive growth phase in the U.S., and the decision to build a manufacturing facility in West Point, Troup County, Georgia is the latest example of the company's commitment to the marketplace," said Kia CEO Chung Euisun.
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue attended the press conference here.
Kia did not say which vehicles it plans to assemble in Georgia.
Kim Hak-ju, an auto analyst at Samsung Securities in Seoul, said: "Kia will be able to fully utilize its facilities as it will roll out a lot of new SUVs, minivans and sedans in 2008-2009.In the past, Hyundai and Kia have not been big enough to localize their cars and this has limited their sales volumes, but now U.S. consumers will see localized models."
Meanwhile, construction is under way on an $87 million U.S. corporate campus for Kia in Irvine, Calif., that is expected to open in December 2006. It will include a design center.
Kia has invested more than $300 million in the United States over the past four years, including an r&d center in Ann Arbor, Mich.; a vehicle proving ground in Mojave, Calif.; and a design studio in California, which it shares with Hyundai Motor America.
In the United States, Kia sold 275,851 vehicles in 2005.
Kia expects its North American sales (U.S. and Canada) to climb by 15 percent to 350,000 units in 2006, and grow to 800,000 units by 2010.
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-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----
If they were smart they could have saved some money and bought the ford plant the just closed down.
This is good. Outsourcing jobs = bad for US Economy.
go hyundai! not only are you becoming the model for success but at the same time yoru turnign around other brands u just barely aquired!
effign shiz i love hyundai
The biggest hole, is the illusion of invulnerability.
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Wow, I must be retarded, I had no clue that Hyundai owned Kia. I thought they were as different as Chevy and Ford.
Has Hyundai always owned them or is this something in the news that I might have just missed?
well hyundai got 51 percent of kia in 98
but it seems to me they werent putting much effort into fixing kias name plate until recently
gotta put the main brand first on priority so i understand that.
eleantra = spectra
tuscan = sportage
info:
In the mid '90s Kia, a venerable Korean carmaker, was in desperate straits because the economy of South Korea and indeed the economies of much of Asia were in meltdown. After a tug of war with Ford, Hyundai acquired Kia in 1998. The combined Hyundai-Kia Motors was then given a massive injection of cash by the Korean Government to put it right on its feet. Currently the world's 9th largest automaker, it plans to replace DaimlerChrysler in the number five slot by 2010. Don't laugh. The company is ideally positioned geographically to move up since much of the sales growth in the next decade is projected to come from the Far East, which is Hyundai-Kia's backyard. Hyundai and Kia currently share several of the 27 platforms on their combined rosters. By 2008, they plan to reduce the number of platforms to eight with a commensurate increase in sharing. Bottom line is Kia is a major player in the global automotive stakes and it's here to stay. Its excellent line up for 2005 - anchored by the terrific Spectra models and the well-engineered Sorento, will ensure that Kia's plans to be a major player in North America stay on track.
btw diamler chrys / merced has %10 in hyunda motor comp
The biggest hole, is the illusion of invulnerability.
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