 | This article needs to be updated.(October 2021) |
South Korean automobile manufacturer Kia maintains 14 manufacturing facilities in eight countries along with research centres in South Korea, the US, Japan, and Germany. [1] Kia has four manufacturing plants in South Korea and additional plants in China, India, Japan, Mexico, Slovakia, the United States and Vietnam.
The Namyang Design Center, located in Hwaseong, South Korea, serves as Kia's primary design facility. [2] The facility, which is shared with parent company Hyundai, is located on over 3.3 million square meters of land and serves as the central hub for engineering work encompassing the entire design process, from pre-design studies, prototyping and extensive track testing, and full-scale wind tunnel aerodynamic testing. [3] to crash testing. [4] Kia and Hyundai employees from around the world receive training at the Namyang Center. [4]
The Kia Design Center America in Irvine, California, is located on a 22 acres (8.9 ha) corporate campus [5] with a $130 million initial investment, [5] the Irvine, California Kia Design Center was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill [5] and was completed in 2008, featuring 45 workstations and nine offices. [6] The studio can model up to eight vehicles at once and includes a computerized milling machine that can quickly create full-size models. [6] Work and presentation areas include a 2-D presentation room, "a kind of darkroom in virtual reality where up to three full-size digital images can be projected for evaluation and comparison." [6]
The 239,000-square-foot (22,200 m2) building [5] features a hallmark 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) entry canopy [6] and sits aside a 36,000-square-foot (3,300 m2) reflecting pool. [5] The parking lot includes an environmentally efficient bioswale system to filter water runoff. [5]
The Kia Design Center Europe was opened in 2007 in Frankfurt, Germany. Kia had previously shared a facility with Hyundai in Rüsselsheim, Germany. [7] The new headquarters building is located adjacent to Frankfurt's main showground where the city hosts its biennial auto show. [7]
The Hyundai-Kia R&D center in China is located in both Shanghai and Yantai. [8]
The Autoland Gwangmyeong (formerly known as Sohari Plant) in Soha-dong, Gwangmyeong is Kia's first integrated automobile manufacturing plant, [9] established in 1973 on 498,908 square metres (5,370,200 sq ft) of land. The plant is near the country's capital of Seoul in Gyeonggi province, with ready access to labor, other resources and transportation facilities, as well as the Seoul metropolitan area. [10]
The factory currently manufactures the Kia Carnival/Sedona (and its variant the Hyundai Entourage, 2007–2009), Kia Rio, Kia Stonic, Kia Stinger and Kia K9/Quoris/K900, with an annual output of 340,000 vehicles. [11]
The Sohari Plant manufactured Kia's first internal combustion engine, [9] followed by the manufacture of its first automobile, the Kia Brisa (1974–1982). In 1975, Kia exported its first vehicle, the Brisa pickup, to the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar. [12]
The South Korean government forced Kia to halt car production in 1981, assessing the Korean auto market as too competitive. [13] In 1986, the government allowed the company to resume manufacturing with its agreement to build the Ford Festiva for export. [13]
The Sohari Plant manufactured the Kia Pride and its rebadged variants the Ford Festiva [13] and Mazda 121, as well as the subsequent Kia Avella and its variant, the Ford Aspire.
Located in Woojeong-myeon, Gyeonggi Province and established in 1991, the plant covers 3,199,636 square metres (34,440,600 sq ft) of land and manufactures the Kia Optima/K5, Kia Cadenza/K7, Kia Forte/Cerato, Kia Sorento, Kia Mohave/Borrego, Kia EV6, and Kia Niro. By July 2001, cumulative production passed 3 million. The facility maintains a proving ground with a high-speed oval, 12 different test tracks extending to a total length of 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) and 32 different road surfaces.
Located in Gwangju on approximately 1,022,244 square metres (11,003,340 sq ft) of land, the facility produces the Kia Soul, Kia Seltos, Kia Carens/Rondo, Kia Sportage, and Kia Bongo/K-Series, as well as buses and military vehicles. [14]
Formerly Asia Motors used this plant until 1999.
For reference, in addition to the Autoland Gwangju, there is a Hanam factory.
Located in Seosan, the facility opened in 2004 as a joint venture with Donghee. It manufactures 230,000 units a year and is the producer of the Kia Picanto/Morning and Kia Ray. [15]
In December 2007, Kia Motors Corporation opened its manufacturing facility in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, its second plant in China and its second plant in conjunction as a joint venture. [16] Yueda Kia is a joint venture of Kia and China's Jiangsu Yueda. It was originally established as Dongfeng Yueda Kia in 2002, but Dongfeng Automotive Group sold its 25% stake to Jiangsu Yueda in 2021. [17] [18] The facility is 3.9 million sq.-ft. (367,794 sq.-m) [16] and is located just 2.2 miles (3.5 km) from the joint venture's existing facility. [16] At an initial cost of US$800 million, the fully integrated passenger car production facility will have an annual capacity of 300,000 units, boosting DYK's total annual capacity to 430,000 vehicles. [19]
Kia created a greenfield facility in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, opened in 2018. The site occupies 536 acres (2.17 km2) and has facilities for stamping, welding, painting and assembly with annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles. [20] Its head office is currently in Amaravathi which is the new capital of Andhra Pradesh. It will also be home to supplier companies’ facilities. The plant currently manufactures the Kia Seltos from mid-2019, Kia Sonet from September 2020 and Kia Carens for domestic market and exports to emerging markets. [14] The plant also manufactures the Kia Carnival exclusively for domestic market.
Located in Pesquería, near Monterrey, Nuevo León, and opened in September 2016, [21] this US$1 billion plant is capable of producing 300,000 cars annually. [22] The facility currently manufactures the third generation Forte and the fourth generation Rio. [23] In 2024, the Kia Motors Manufacturing Mexico began to assembly the facelifted 2025 NX4 Hyundai Tucson instead of Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. In 2017, Kia Motors Manufacturing Mexico began to assembly the fifth generation Hyundai Accent for the American continent, which was discontinued in 2022. [24] The press factory developed and installed a uniform cushioning device with a high quality stabilization effect by ensuring uniform panel quality. The body shop has achieved 100% welding automation rate with more than 300 robots. In the event of a facility failure, a monitoring system has also been established that allows Korean experts to provide remote support. The paint shop applied an eco-friendly water-soluble method that can paint a total of 15 kinds of colors. The outfitting factory applied a one-kit system using a bridge direct supply method for module parts such as seats and bumpers, and a conveyor.
In 2022, Kia announced an additional $480 million to open at least five new production facilities while $67 million of the existing investment will be used to improve commuting conditions.
Lucky Motor is a Pakistani automobile assembler and distributor owned by the Yunus Brothers Group. It currently assembles the Kia Picanto, Kia Sportage, Kia Sorento, Kia Grand Carnival, Kia Stonic, and Kia Frontier. [25] [26] [27] [28]
In April 2007, [29] Kia opened its first plant in Europe, at the initial cost of €1b, in Žilina, Slovakia, about 200 kilometres north-east of Bratislava, with initial production concentrating around the Kia Cee'd model, designed exclusively for the European market, with production later expanding to the Kia Venga and Kia Sportage. The capacity of the plant is 300,000 units per year. [30] It is one of the few auto factories in the world that is capable of building up to eight different models on the same line, and build ratios can be adjusted to demand. [31] In 2019, Kia's Zilina plant built a system to replace all electricity with renewable energy. In 2020, Kia invested 70 million euros to expand the engine production line at Kia's Zilina plant and dispatched 184 technicians on chartered flights. After the expansion of the engine production line, the company will produce 1.6 GDI engines and 1.6 T-GDI engines. The Kia Zilina plant plans to produce small and mid-sized electric vehicles specialized for the European market from 2025.
Kia Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG), Kia's plant in West Point, Georgia, is capable of producing 350,000 cars annually [32] for the North American and global markets. At an initial cost of $1 billion (US) [32] the facility comprises 2.2 million-square-feet [32] on more than 2,200 acres (8.9 km2) of land [32] near Interstate 85. [33] In addition to four main areas (stamping, welding, paint, and assembly), the facility also includes a transmission shop, module shop, and a two-mile (3 km) test track. [32] The assembly area features more than a half mile of height-adjustable conveyors and wood flooring.
Kia Georgia is home of the Telluride SUV, Sorento SUV, Sportage SUV and, coming soon, the all-electric EV9 three row SUV. This advanced manufacturing facility represents a $2.8 billion investment on a 2,200 acre site, operating 24 hours a day.
Kia's Georgia plant recorded cumulative production of 1 million units in 2013 and exceeded 3 million units in September 2019. On December 31, 2021, President Jangsu Shin retired and a new CEO, Stuart Countess, was appointed effective January 2022.
On May 20, 2022, Kia's parent company Hyundai announced plans to construct a new electric vehicle plant near Savannah, Georgia. [34]
The ADM Jizzakh plant began its work at the end of 2020 with a yearly production capacity of 25,000, it currently produces Kia Seltos, Kia K5 and Kia K8.
Since 2001, [35] Kia manufactured automobiles as part of a joint venture with Truong Hai Automobile Co. at a factory located in Chu Lai, Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. [36] The site covers 320 hectares (790 acres), and Truong Hai was the first private company in Vietnam to manufacture automobiles, and the first to achieve an annual output of 5,000 automobiles. [35] The facility expanded in 2003 on 38 ha in Tam Hiep Industrial Park with an investment of VND1,900 billion. [35] In 2007, Truong Hai Automobile Co. Ltd became Truong Hai Automobile Joint Stock Company (Thaco), with automobiles marketed as Thaco-Kia. The joint venture produces the Hyundai Solati and Hyundai County in Chu Lai.
Hyundai Motor Company, often referred to as Hyundai Motors, and commonly known as Hyundai, is a South Korean multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, which was founded in 1967. Currently, the company owns 33.88 percent of Kia Corporation, and fully owns two marques including its luxury cars subsidiary, Genesis, and their electric vehicle brand Ioniq. The three brands altogether make up the Hyundai Motor Group.
Kia Corporation is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second largest automobile manufacturer, after its parent company, Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over 2.8 million vehicles in 2019. As of 2015, Kia is owned by Hyundai, which holds a 33.88% stake valued at just over US$6 billion. Kia in turn is a minority owner of more than twenty Hyundai subsidiaries ranging from 4.9% up to 45.37%, totaling more than US$8.3 billion.
The Kia Sportage is a series of automobiles manufactured by the South Korean manufacturer Kia since 1993 through five generations. Initially a compact SUV built on a body-on-frame chassis, the second-generation Sportage transitioned to a car-based platform which placed it into the compact crossover SUV class, and has been developed alongside the Hyundai Tucson. Since the fifth-generation model launched in 2021, Kia developed the Sportage in two sizes with different wheelbase lengths for different markets.
Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama is an automobile factory in Montgomery, Alabama.
The Hyundai Theta is a gasoline four-cylinder automobile engine family. The third all-aluminum engine of Hyundai Motor Company debuted in the fourth-generation Hyundai Sonata sedan, which was unveiled in August 2004 in South Korea. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) built a Theta II engine shop on the grounds of their Montgomery, Alabama automobile factory.
The Kia Picanto is a city car that has been produced by the South Korean car manufacturer, Kia, since 2003. Other names of the car include Kia Morning in South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Chile, Kia EuroStar in Taiwan, Kia New Morning in Vietnam and the Naza Suria or Naza Picanto in Malaysia. The Picanto is primarily manufactured at the Donghee joint-venture plant in Seosan, South Korea, though some countries locally assemble complete knock-down versions of the car.
Jiangsu Yueda Kia Motors Co., Ltd. is an automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Yancheng, China and a joint venture between Jiangsu Yueda Group and Kia. The company was formerly known as Dongfeng Yueda Kia Motors Co., Ltd. until Dongfeng withdrew from the joint venture in late 2021.
This article provides an overview of the automotive industry in countries around the world.
Dongfeng Motor Corporation Ltd. is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wuhan, Hubei. Founded in 1969, it is currently the smallest of the "Big Four" state-owned car manufacturers of China with 671,000 sales in 2023, below SAIC Motor, Changan Automobile and FAW Group.
The automotive industry in South Korea is the fifth-largest in the world as measured by automobile unit production and also the five-largest by automobile export volume.
Hyundai Motor Europe GmbH is the European division of South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Company, its headquarters is in Offenbach am Main, Germany. It has a R&D center in Frankfurt and three manufacturing plants: one in Nošovice, Czech Republic; one in Saint Petersburg, Russia; and one in Turkey. Three models were produced at the TagAZ's plant in Taganrog. Its slogan for the European Market is "New Thinking, New Possibilities".
Avtotor is an automobile manufacturing company located in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. Avtotor was established in 1996. By 2008, it was one of the largest producers and assemblers of cars in the world. Industry publication Automotive Manufacturing Solutions estimates the company's revenue for 2011 at 4 billion euros and total employees at 3,500, although credit rating agency Expert estimated total revenue in 2017 at $689 million. In 2022, the company's revenue amounted to 9.5 billion rubles.
Since 2007, Slovakia has been the world's largest producer of cars per capita, with a total of 1 080 000 in 2018 cars manufactured alone in a country with 5 million people. With production of more than a million cars in 2016, Slovakia was 20th in the list of worldwide car production by country and the 7th largest car producer in the European Union. Car manufacture is the largest industry in Slovakia with a share of 12% on the Slovak GDP in 2013 which was 41% of industrial production and 26% of Slovakia's export. 80,000 people were employed in the automotive industry in 2014. 1,500 people were employed when Jaguar Land Rover started production in Nitra in 2018.
Truong Hai Group Corporation (THACO), is a Vietnamese automobile manufacturer in. The company is a member of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA). It was founded in 1997 and is considered one of the pioneers of the Vietnamese auto industry. In 2014, the company captured 32% of Vietnam's automobile market. As of 2017, THACO owned the largest automobile production capacity in Vietnam, at 71,000 units per year.
The automotive industry in Vietnam is a fast-growing sector mainly reliant on domestic sales. All currently produced models are designed abroad by foreign brands, and many rely on knock-down kit production. Due to high import taxes on automobiles, the Vietnamese government protects domestic manufacturing. Although Vietnam is a member of the ASEAN Free Trade Area, automobile imports fall under an exception. Since January 1, 2018, the 30% import tax has been discontinued as part of ASEAN agreements. Currently, the Vietnamese motor industry is not deemed competitive enough to make exports feasible. As of April 2018, 85% of car sales in Vietnam were produced domestically from knock-down kits.
The Kia Seltos is a subcompact crossover SUV manufactured by Kia. Introduced in mid-2019, the Seltos is positioned between the smaller Stonic, Soul, or Sonet and the larger Sportage in Kia's global SUV lineup.
Lucky Motor Corporation (LMC) is a Pakistani automobile manufacturer and distributor which is a subsidiary of Lucky Cement.
The Hyundai Smartstream is a gasoline and diesel automobile engine branding used by Hyundai since 2018. An all-aluminum engine of Hyundai Motor Company debuted in the third-generation Hyundai i30 hatchback, which was unveiled in 2018 at the Paris Motor Show.
Kia India Private Limited is a subsidiary of Kia for its operations in India. The company was founded on 19 May 2017 following an announcement of the construction of a new 536-acre manufacturing facility in Anantapuram District, Andhra Pradesh. The plant started its trial production in January 2019 and the mass production of its first product, the Kia Seltos started on 31 July 2019. The US$2 billion manufacturing plant is capable of producing 300,000 vehicles annually.
Kia spends 6% of its annual revenues on R&D and also runs research centres in the USA, Japan and Germany.
Although the Zilina facility has been manufacturing Kia cee'd cars since December 2006, Kia Motors Corporation and the Slovakian Government agreed that the construction of this all-new facility, which has created more than 10,000 new jobs in the region, is so immensely significant that it should be formally celebrated.
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