Kia Opens New Plant in Mexico to Bolster Sales in the Americas

Chung Mong Koo, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman, opens a new plant in Mexico in order to improve sales of the car brand in the Americas.

Korea JoongAng Daily reported that on Wednesday, Kia Motors opened a plant in Pesqueria, Mexico that can manufacture 400,000 vehicles every year. The new plant is the sixth overseas factory for Kia Motors, the second largest automaker in South Korea and the key affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group. It is also anticipated to boost the company's yearly global capacity to 3.6 million vehicles annually. Kia's new factory in Mexico is the second biggest after the car company's plant in Yancheng, China that has an annual production of up to 890,000 units.

The last plant of Kia has opened in Georgia, United States in 2010. When combined with the plants of Hyundai-branded vehicles, the South Korean automotive group has now 17 plants around the world.

During the inauguration ceremony of the new plant, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung said, "The new plant here in Mexico represents the next step in Kia Motors' ambition to become one of the world's leading automakers. With the new productivity, we are going to target not only the Mexico market but also export to all over the world."

Kia Motors, as well as its suppliers, invested $3 billion in its plant in Mexico, which will be equipped with advanced features, including 420 robots.

Since May of this year, the plant has been manufacturing Kia's compact sedan K3, also known as Forte in the overseas market. In 2017, the compact vehicle model Rio will also be made there. An estimated 80 percent of the vehicles manufactured at the Mexican plant will be exported, specifically to the United States.

Hyundai Motor Group's sales overseas surpassed Korean sales in 1998. Of the 8 million cars sold last year, 84 percent were sold overseas.

A spokesperson from the company said, "We aim to expand our market share to 5 percent of Mexico's auto market by 2020."