Kia Motors maintains a number of design and manufacturing facilities in its home country of South Korea, as well as the United States, Eastern Europe, China and Japan.
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The Namyang Design Center, located in Hwaseong, South Korea, serves as Kia's primary design facility.[1] The facility, which is shared with parent company Hyundai, is located on over 3.3 million square meters of land and serves as the central hub for engineering work encompassing the entire design process, from pre-design studies, prototyping and extensive track testing, full-scale wind tunnel aerodynamic testing.[2] to crash testing.[3] Kia and Hyundai employees from around the world receive training at the Namyang Center.[3]
The Kia Design Center America in Irvine, California, is located on a 22 acres (8.9 ha) corporate campus[4] with a $130 million initial investment,[4] the Irvine, California Kia Design Center was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill[4] and was completed in 2008, featuring 45 workstations and nine offices.[5] The studio can model up to eight vehicles at once and includes a computerized milling machine that can quickly create full-size models.[5] Work and presentation areas include a 2-D presentation room, "a kind of darkroom in virtual reality where up to three full-size digital images can be projected for evaluation and comparison."[5]
The 239,000-square-foot (22,200 m2) building[4] features a hallmark 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) entry canopy[5] and sits aside a 36,000-square-foot (3,300 m2) reflecting pool.[4] The parking lot includes an environmentally efficient bioswale system to filter water runoff.[4]
The Kia Design Center Europe was opened in 2007 in Frankfurt, Germany. Kia had previously shared a facility with Hyundai in Russelsheim, Germany.[6] The new headquarters building is located adjacent to Frankfurt's main showground where the city hosts its biennial auto show.[6]
South Korea: The Sohari Plant was Kia Motors first integrated automobile manufacturing plant,[7] established in 1973. Subsequently, the plant manufactured Kia's first internal combustion engine,[7] followed by the manufacture of its first automobile, the Kia Brisa (1974–1982). In 1975, Kia exported its first vehicle, the Brisa pickup, to the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar.[8]
The South Korean government forced Kia to halt car production in 1981, assessing the Korean auto market as too competitive.[9] The government allowed the company to resume manufacturing in 1986 with its agreement to build the Ford Festiva for export.[9]
The Sohari Plant manufactured the Kia Pride and its rebadged variants the Ford Festiva[9] and Mazda 121, as well as the subsequent Kia Avella and its variant, the Ford Aspire. The factory currently manufactures the Kia Carnival/Sedona (and its variant the Hyundai Entourage, 2007–2009) and Kia Rio.[10]
The plant is located in Soha-dong, Gwangmyeong, South Korea, near the country's capital of Seoul in the Gyeonggi province — with ready access to labor, other resources and transportation facilities, as well as the Seoul metropolitan area.[11]
South Korea: Located in Woojeong-myeon, Gyeonggi Province and established in 1991, 3,300,000 square metres (36,000,000 sq ft) of land and manufactures Optima, Spectra, Forte, Enterprise, Sportage and Carens models. By July 2001, cumulative production had passed the 3 million mark. The facility maintains a proving ground with a high-speed oval, 12 different test tracks extending to a total length of 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) and 32 different road surfaces.
South Korea: Located in Gwangju on approximately 925,000 square meters of land, the facility produces commercial vehicles including the Grace, Retona, Pregio, Frontier, Rhino, Trade, Combi and other large-size buses.
Vietnam: Since 2001,[12] Kia manufactured automobiles as part of a joint ventured with Truong Hai Automobile Co. at a factory located in Chu Lai, Quang Nam province, Vietnam.[13] The site covers 320 hectares (790 acres), and Truong Hai was the first private company in Vietnam to manufacture automobiles, and the first to achieve an annual output of 5,000 automobiles.[12] The facility expanded in 2003 on 38 ha in Tam Hiep Industrial Park with an investment of VND1,900 billion.[12] In 2007, Truong Hai Automobile Co. Ltd became Truong Hai Automobile Joint Stock Company (Thaco), with automobiles marketed as Thaco-Kia.
Slovakia: In 2005, Kia opened its first plant in Slovakia, at the initial cost of €1b, in Žilina, Slovakia, about 200 kilometres north-east of Bratislava. The eventual capacity of the plant is 300,000 units per year.[14]
China: In December 2007, Kia Motors Corporation opened its manufacturing facility in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, its second plant in China and its second plant in conjunction as a joint venture.[15] Dongfeng Yueda Kia (DYK) Motors is a joint venture of Kia and China’s Dongfeng Automotive Group first established in 2002. The new facility is 3.9 million sq.-ft. (367,794 sq.-m)[15] and is located just 2.2 miles (3.5 km) from the joint venture's existing facility.[15] At an initial cost of US$800 million, the fully integrated passenger car production facility will have an annual capacity of 300,000 units, boosting DYK’s total annual capacity to 430,000 vehicles.[16]
United States: Officially Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG), Kia's plant in West Point, Georgia, is capable of producing 300,000 cars annually[17] for the North American and global markets. At an initial cost of $1 billion (US)[17] the facility comprises 2.2 million-square-feet[17] on more than 2,200 acres (8.9 km2) of land[17] near Interstate 85.[18] The facility currently manufactures the second generation Sorento as well as the redesigned 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe.[19]
In addition to four main areas (stamping, welding, paint and assembly), the facility also includes a transmission shop, module shop and a two-mile (3 km) test track.[17] The assembly area features more than a half mile of height-adjustable conveyors and wood flooring.
Production of the second generation Kia Sorento began on Nov. 16, 2009.[17]
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