Kia to mass-produce EVs at Hyundai Motor Group’s 1st dedicated plant

Kia Corp., an automaker of Hyundai Motor Group, is poised to start mass production of electric vehicles at the global No. 3 carmaker’s first dedicated plant to the eco-friendly automobiles in South Korea, betting an eventual recovery in the global EV industry despite the prolonged weakness.

Kia, South Korea’s second-largest automaker, on Friday held a completion ceremony for the No. 2 plant in Gwangmyeong, near the capital Seoul, dubbed the EVO Plant with an annual capacity of 150,000 units.

The plant, which has manufactured the low-cost compact electric sport utility vehicle EV3, during its test run since June, plans to produce the electric compact sedan EV4 in the first half of 2025.

“With the goal of providing sustainable mobility solutions, we will lead innovation in the EV market and fulfill our responsibilities in helping to deliver a sustainable future”, said Choi Jun Young, Kia’s executive vice president and head of domestic production division in a welcoming speech at the event.

TO MAKE HISTORY

Kia invested 401.6 billion won ($304.6 million) to revamp the No. 2 plant in Kia’s Autoland Gwangmyeong into a facility to manufacture its cheaper EVs amid the protracted slowdown in the global EV sector on weak demand.

Its larger affiliate Hyundai Motor Co. slashed its long-term sales target due to the sluggish EV market.

Kia, however, pledged to get over the slowdown with the new plant.

“The EV3 and the EV4 will play an important role in the global electric vehicle uptake,” said an official of the EV6 and the EV9 maker.

“We will make history at the Gwangmyeong ECO Plant.”

Hyundai Motor Co. is building its dedicated EV factory with an annual capacity of 200,000 units for mass production from the first quarter of 2026 in Ulsan about 300 kilometers (186 miles) southeast of Seoul.

Write to Jae-Fu Kim at hu@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.