India – The OEM has signed a memorandum of understanding with the state government of Andhra Pradesh to build a new plant in Anantapur District, with construction beginning in Q4, 2017 and production in H2, 2019. The $1.1 billion factory will have the capacity to make up to 300,000 vehicles per year.
“[The new facility] will enable us to sell cars in the world’s fifth-largest market, while providing greater flexibility for our global business,” commented Han-Woo Park, president of Kia Motors. “Worldwide demand for Kia cars is growing and this is our latest step towards becoming a leading global car manufacturer.”
The Anantapur factory will cover 2.16m sq.m and include facilities for stamping, welding, painting and assembly, while the site will also include supplier premises. The model line up will consist of a compact sedan and compact SUV specifically for the Indian market.
Kia hopes to take a slice of a car market which is predicted to become the third-largest in the world by 2020; new-car sales in India exceeded 3.3m last year.
