South Korean automotive major Kia Motors commenced trial production at its India plant
Reportedly south Korean automotive major Kia Motors on Tuesday commenced trial production at its india plant in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh with plans to commercially launch its first vehicle in the second half of 2019. The company has invested $1 billion in the facility which has come up in Erramanchi village in Anantapur district, about 200 km from Bengaluru.
The total investment of $2 billion is billed as one of the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country in the automobile sector. The state-of-the-art facility, which has come up over 536 acres of land in a record time of 14 months, will manufacture 300,000 vehicles annually, with the bulk of the capacity catering to the domestic market.
Kia marked the start of trial operations with a launch ceremony at the Anantapur plant, in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and south Korean Ambassador Shin Bongkil, President & CEO of Kia Motors Corp Han-Woo Park and MD and CEO of Kia Motors india Kookhyun Shim. Kia also consolidated its Future Mobility Partnership with the government of Andhra Pradesh by handing over a new Kia Soul EV (electric vehicle). The new EV is part of Kia's growing portfolio of advanced, eco-friendly power trains.