Kia Motors Corp., affiliate of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co., will invest $1.1 billion to build its first factory in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. The plant will have a production capacity of 300,000 vehicles a year, and it will produce a compact sedan and a sport utility vehicle tailored for the Indian market. “Our new India plant will enable us to sell cars in the world’s fifth-largest market, while providing greater flexibility for our global business,” Kia Motors president Park Han-Woo said.
Reuters reports that Kia will likely leverage Hyundai’s supply chain network built around its factories in the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu to gain a foothold in the Indian market, tipped to become the world’s third-largest by 2020. Hyundai is India’s No.2 automaker by sales.
