Construction of Kia Motors´ all-new car manufacturing facility, near the town of Zilina in Slovakia, is running ahead of schedule and the company´s first European plant is starting to take shape. At present 1,000 workers mostly from Slovakia, are working on site.
The factory represents an investment of €1.0 billion and is due to begin production of new ´designed for Europe´ Kia models next year, with the first cars rolling off the final assembly line in December 2006. The 180,000 square metre building will occupy a 168 hectare site and will have the potential for producing 300,000 cars annually.
As one of Europe´s fastest growing economies, Slovakia will benefit from and develop with Kia, one of the worlds fastest growing automobile manufacturers. The country introduced significant economic reforms in order to join the EU, and already unemployment is down, annual inflation is down to 2% and the Zilina area, 200 kilometres north-east of Bratislava, is set to benefit hugely.
Annual vehicle output at Kia´s Zilina plant is planned to reach 100,000 units during 2007 – its first full year of activity – and 200,000 by the end of 2008. By 2010, Kia anticipates supplying up to 40% of European demand for its products from Slovakia.
“The creation of a Kia manufacturing facility in Europe is a very significant step in the growth and development of our company,” commented Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President of Kia Motors Europe. “As well as supplying top-quality Kia cars for our expanding European dealer network, our new factory will open doors to new market sectors and will help to establish Kia even more securely in the European marketplace. We are confident that 500,000 annual sales and a 3% market share for Kia across the wider European market will be achievable by 2008.”