Kia Slovakia Plant Breaks Production Records in 2014
The Zilina facility’s performance reflects the market success of the Kia Sportage compact CUV, which represented 55% of last year’s output.
TURIN – Kia’s manufacturing complex in the Slovakian city of Zilina cements its leading role with the entire Hyundai Motor Group by increasing production to more than 323,000 units in 2014, a 3% increase over the previous record set a year earlier.
The complex also set a new record with 493,000 gasoline- and diesel-engine builds.
Kia Slovakia’s performance reflects the market success of the Kia Sportage compact CUV, which represented 55% of last year’s output. The Cee’d range of hatchbacks accounted for 36% of the annual output and the Venga compact MPV 9%.
The engine operation shipped slightly more than 50% of the gasoline mills it produced to Kia and Hyundai plants.
Eek-Hee Lee, President and CEO of Kia Slovakia, says the automaker is confident it will maintain its manufacturing leadership despite the prolonged sales slump in Russia, a major Kia market.
“I believe that this year, too, we will again be able to fully use our production capacity thanks to the new models that we will introduce to our customers,” he says.
Last year the Russian market accounted for 18% of the Zilina plant’s output, well ahead of the 13% shipped to the U.K., 9% to Germany and 6% each to Italy and Spain.
About the Author
You May Also Like
