Kia Slovakia Celebrates Millionth Car

TEPLICKA NAD VAHOM, Slovakia – Kia Motors Slovakia produces its 1 millionth vehicle since launching its plant here in December 2006.

Three models of the Kia cee’d compact-car range – 5- and 3-door hatchbacks and a wagon –accounted for 62% of the total output. The Kia Sportage and Hyundai ix35 cross/utility vehicles were responsible for 37% of production and the Kia Venga multipurpose vehicle, 1%.

The Hyundai ix35 (Tucson in the U.S.) was phased out and transferred to the Hyundai Motor Mfg. Czech plant in neighboring Czech Republic last summer. Slovak production of the Kia Venga, previously manufactured at HMMC, was started in October 2011.

The cee’d model family and Venga are manufactured solely at Kia’s Slovak facility.

The Slovak plant’s largest export market has been Russia, accounting for 20% of the total since 2006, followed by Germany (10%), the U.K. (9%), Spain (6%) and Poland (5%).

The milestone vehicle, a Kia cee'd SW station wagon, was donated to the Red Nose Clowndoctors, a group that entertains children in hospitals throughout Slovakia.

The auto maker produced 252,228 vehicles in 2011, up 10% from 2010. That includes 42,721 cee’d 5-door hatchbacks, 47,843 cee’d SW wagons and 13,130 pro_cee’d 3-door hatchbacks. The Sportage accounted for 101,461 units, the Hyundai ix35 CUV 36,004 and the Venga 11,069.

This year, the Slovak plant is expected to build about 285,000 vehicles.

Kia Slovakia launched a third shift in early January and plans to reach full capacity at the end of the first quarter. Its engine plant has been running on three shifts since September 2009.

Volume production of the second-generation cee’d 5-door hatchback, which will be unveiled at the Geneva auto show in March, will be launched in April. The successor to the cee’d SW wagon will follow in mid-2012, with the new-generation pro_cee’d 3-door to be added in early 2013.

In addition to vehicles, the Slovak plant has manufactured 1,242,400 gasoline and diesel engines since its opening. It produced 359,578 powerplants last year, up 12% from 2010.

Slovak-made engines also are shipped to HMMC.

The auto maker employs more than 3,900 people on its vehicle-assembly and engine lines.

In related news, Eek-Hee Lee, former head of the planning division at the Kia headquarters in South Korea, is appointed the new president and CEO of Kia Motors Slovakia. He succeeds Myung-Chul Chung, who is filling a new position in South Korea.