KIA Motors produces its 3 millionth vehicle in the U.S.A.
KIA Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc (KMMG) reached another milestone yesterday evening when the plant’s three millionth vehicle – a white KIA 2020 Telluride SX Prestige – rolled off the assembly line in West Point, Georgia.
Representing an investment of more than US$1.1 billion, KMMG began mass production on 16 November 2009, and – with an annual capacity of more than 340,000 units – today produces more than 40% of all KIA vehicles sold in the United States.
“Producing three million vehicles in less than 10 years is another example of the commitment and results of the KMMG Team’s ‘One System, One Team’ philosophy,"
said KMMG President and CEO, Jangsoo (Jason) Shin.
“The world-class quality that goes into every Telluride, Sorento and Optima we build is a direct result of the hard work and dedication of our team members, and today we salute their commitment to excellence.”
KMMG, which will celebrate its 10th year of production later this year, has consistently been recognised for the outstanding quality, reliability and performance of its KIA products in evaluations and reports by J.D. Power & Associates, Consumer Reports, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and a variety of media outlets.
“KMMG is an outstanding example of hardworking Georgians performing at world-class levels,”
said Georgia Governor, Brian Kemp.
“The company’s continued investment here is yet another result of our pro-business atmosphere, and I am proud to see KMMG’s relationship with the State of Georgia continue to strengthen. I want to congratulate KIA’s team members on the latest of many accomplishments.”
KIA Motors Corporation incorporates a global production network which, apart from KIA Motors Manufacturing Georgia, also includes four manufacturing facilities in South Korea (Sohari, Hwasung, Gwangju and Seosan) with a combined annual capacity of more than 1,8 million units. KIA Motors also boasts three manufacturing facilities at Yancheng in China (with a combined annual capacity of nearly 900,000 units), as well as the €1 billion Zilina plant in Slovakia, whose annual production capacity of 330,000 units caters predominantly for the European production of Ceed and Sportage models. Both the Zilina and Yanchecg plants opened in 2007.
More recently, in 2016, KIA Motors opened a US$1 billion, 400,000 unit production facility in Monterrey, Mexico, and in January this year opened its latest production facility in Anantapur, located in India’s Andra Pradesh province. Also representing an investment US$1 billion, the new Anantapur plant has an annual capacity of 300,000 units. Production commenced in August 2019, with the first model produced being the new KIA Seltos compact SUV. Several additional models are also destined to be produced in Anantapur.
