Kia Arrives in U.S.

Kia Motors Corp. will build a new $1.2 billion vehicle manufacturing facility in West Point, GA. The South Korean's auto maker's first U.S. plant, which will employ 2,500 workers, will begin production in 2009 and produce up to 300,000 vehicles annually.

The announcement concludes a pitched battle among four Southern states to win the facility, with Mississippi and Georgia as the frontrunners.

The decision to locate in West Point was based primarily on “maximizing synergies with Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd.'s Alabama plant, availability of a qualified workforce in the area and strong logistical and transportation infrastructure,” a Kia official says.

Local media reports say Kia will receive $75.9 million in tax credits over a 5-year period, $20.2 million for a job-training facility, $60.5 million to prepare the site and $130 million in tax abatements from the city of West Point and Troup County over a 15-year period.

Work on the new plant will begin immediately at a 2,200-acre (890-ha) site along Interstate 85, where an interchange will be constructed.

Reports say the plant will contain 2 million sq.-ft. (185,800 sq.-m) of floor space, with two vehicle assembly lines, an engine plant, press shop, paint shop, training center and visitor center.

The Kia official confirms the facility will have its own engine plant but declines to say which engines will be produced there. He also says the exact vehicle models to be produced there have yet to be selected.

“We have no firm decision on the exact models, but we will produce both passenger cars and (utility vehicles), whether SUVs or MPVs (multipurpose vehicles).”

Additionally, 2,000 jobs will be created by five to six major suppliers that will set up operations within the area, the official says.