NYCshopper
03-13-2006, 09:58 AM
Kia Motors to Build Its First U.S. Factory in Georgia
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aTD761K2IRhc&refer=us
March 13 (Bloomberg) -- Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, will build a $1.2 billion factory in West Point, Georgia, choosing a site near its parent Hyundai Motor Co.'s U.S. plant to tap growing sales in North America.
Kia's Chief Executive Chung Eui-Sun and Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed an agreement today in Seoul to build the facility on the border with Alabama, which will be Kia's first plant in the U.S., Kia said in an e-mailed statement. Production is scheduled to begin in 2009.
Kia's U.S. factory is the latest from an Asian carmaker. Toyota Motor Corp. is building a truck plant in Texas and Hyundai Motor opened its Alabama plant last year. General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. are both slashing production as buyers opt for rivals' cars. Hyundai Motor Group aims to become one of the world's five largest carmaking groups by 2010.
``The plant will be close to Hyundai's Alabama assembly line so they can share costs and maintain a close cooperative operation,'' said Chung Doo Sun who helps manage the equivalent of $700 million won at Hyundai Wise Asset Management Co. in Seoul. Chung owns shares in Hyundai Motor. He does not own Kia Motors shares.
Hyundai Motor owns a 38.7 percent stake in Kia. In addition to Kia's new factory, Hyundai is building factories in China and India and may also build a factory in the Czech Republic.
Kia's decision to build a plant in Georgia ``is the latest example of the company's commitment to the marketplace,'' Chung said in the statement. ``Kia has entered an aggressive growth phase in the U.S.''
Kia's Georgia factory is designed to produce up to 300,000 vehicles a year, creating 2,500 local jobs, according to the statement. Up to six suppliers will set up operations in the surrounding area in Troup County, resulting in an additional 2,000 jobs, according to the statement by Seoul-based Kia.
The South Korean carmaker, which produces Picanto minis, Rio and Cerato compacts, and Sportage SUVs, picked Georgia over competing offers by Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee. Hyundai Motor's factory in Montgomery, Alabama, began production in May last year.
Kia expects its combined sales in North America to climb by 15 percent to 350,000 units in 2006, and expand to 800,000 units by 2010, the statement said.
Kia shares rose as much as 2.8 percent to 21,850 won in Seoul and were trading at 21,650 won as of 11:24 a.m.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aTD761K2IRhc&refer=us
March 13 (Bloomberg) -- Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, will build a $1.2 billion factory in West Point, Georgia, choosing a site near its parent Hyundai Motor Co.'s U.S. plant to tap growing sales in North America.
Kia's Chief Executive Chung Eui-Sun and Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed an agreement today in Seoul to build the facility on the border with Alabama, which will be Kia's first plant in the U.S., Kia said in an e-mailed statement. Production is scheduled to begin in 2009.
Kia's U.S. factory is the latest from an Asian carmaker. Toyota Motor Corp. is building a truck plant in Texas and Hyundai Motor opened its Alabama plant last year. General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. are both slashing production as buyers opt for rivals' cars. Hyundai Motor Group aims to become one of the world's five largest carmaking groups by 2010.
``The plant will be close to Hyundai's Alabama assembly line so they can share costs and maintain a close cooperative operation,'' said Chung Doo Sun who helps manage the equivalent of $700 million won at Hyundai Wise Asset Management Co. in Seoul. Chung owns shares in Hyundai Motor. He does not own Kia Motors shares.
Hyundai Motor owns a 38.7 percent stake in Kia. In addition to Kia's new factory, Hyundai is building factories in China and India and may also build a factory in the Czech Republic.
Kia's decision to build a plant in Georgia ``is the latest example of the company's commitment to the marketplace,'' Chung said in the statement. ``Kia has entered an aggressive growth phase in the U.S.''
Kia's Georgia factory is designed to produce up to 300,000 vehicles a year, creating 2,500 local jobs, according to the statement. Up to six suppliers will set up operations in the surrounding area in Troup County, resulting in an additional 2,000 jobs, according to the statement by Seoul-based Kia.
The South Korean carmaker, which produces Picanto minis, Rio and Cerato compacts, and Sportage SUVs, picked Georgia over competing offers by Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee. Hyundai Motor's factory in Montgomery, Alabama, began production in May last year.
Kia expects its combined sales in North America to climb by 15 percent to 350,000 units in 2006, and expand to 800,000 units by 2010, the statement said.
Kia shares rose as much as 2.8 percent to 21,850 won in Seoul and were trading at 21,650 won as of 11:24 a.m.