Kia begins production at first US plant

By Matt Brogan | November 25th, 2009

A white Sorento is the first Kia to roll off the production line at the company’s new manufacturing plant in Georgia, USA.

Kia hope to produce 300,000 cars per year when at full capacity and employ 2,500 staff. It’s also hoped the plant will provide some 7,500 supplier and regional jobs in the local region.

“The start of production for our first manufacturing facility in the United States further demonstrates our commitment to growth in North America and we are proud to be adding 2,500 jobs to the local economy,” said Mr B.M. Ahn, President and CEO of Kia Motors America.

Kia has invested US$1 billion and will use some of the world’s most advanced manufacturing techniques to establish new benchmarks for vehicle quality.

The plant’s assembly area has almost one kilometre of height adjustable conveyors, allowing each worker to chose the most comfortable height to work with to help reduce physical fatigue. The floor is also made of wood which is more comfortable to stand on, this is the only general assembly plant in North America to use wooden floors.

As well as the main assembly plant the complex also has a body stamping facility and a transmission shop that produces the new six-speed transmission. A 3.2 km test track is also on the site.

The 57 meter stamping press has 5,400 tons of pressure that can stamp steel into 17 different panels for the Sorento and can operate at a speed of seven to 15 strokes per minute.

Since 2002 Kia Motors has invested more than US$1.3 billion in various facilities within North America, including a design centre in Irvine California, a research and development centre in Ann Arbor Michigan and proving grounds in Mojave California.

Kia Motors America has expanded to a full production line and has had 14 years of market share increases and is only one of three manufacturers whose US sales are up over their 2008 results.

by Adam Marshall

app_master

We can assume they (US) will get the Sorento offered at realistic pricing
- unlike Australia! (55k for Kia – really, come on!)

Mitch

Its actually starts at 40k but its your choice to go upto 55k
Jake

I rather pay 55K for top Kia Sorento than 55K for bottom 2010 Prado.

Dlr1

…and your new Sorento will look real good bogged down to its sills with no low range to help dig it out. I’m not a big fan of the new Prado’s styling or prices (10k too much) but i think its a case of function first, form second. Enjoy you Kia.

http://skyline The Salesman

More than 80% of 4×4 customers NEVER go off road. They are family busses. This is why Hyundai/Kia changed the Sorento to fit a more popular market. It is were the buyers are.
You want to go through deep mud then you should be walking into a Landrover showroom.

Martin

55k??? Where’d that come from, it starts at 36.5k and tops out at 49

Steve-Poyza

The Prado is ugly, the Kia is a good looker.
app_master

SLi is 49.5k.
Assumed Platinum would be mid 50′s (i.e. 55k) but I could be way off?
Point was top-of range should about 45k tops!!! driveway. It’s a Kia no matter how good it really is.

PS I am no badge snob, I really wanted one (Kia Sorento), but not at these prices. May be a different league but we will probly settle for a top range C(r)aptiva diesel driveway for less than 40k or a Santefe R SLX for slighly more. This is our budget. Was just (hugely) dissapointed with Kia price ranges. “Real” prices might be different but it’s too new to tell…

http://skyline The Salesman

Try buying a car with everything Kia offers (apples for apples) for less than $55k. Platinum model ($53,333.00 drive away) is well equipped and of German/Japanese quality.
If it had a Lexus badge on it would you concider it to be good value then?

Ryan

Are you comparing a Kia to luxury car brands?? You realise there’s more to a car than just a badge right? The quality, engineering, r&d, level of service etc. stuff like that which sits on a lot higher level in premium luxury brands that in a budget-focused brand such as Kia. Please do not ridicule yourself by comparing it to Lexus/BMW/Merc/Audi etc…
Hung Low

The Murano Ti as a 5 seater puts this to shame at $56k for equipment, quality and technology.
7 seaters are a gimmick and getting rear ended with children in the last row(their heads are about a foot or so from the rear most impact point) is something that nobody is aware of during purchase.

Martin

Si
2.4L petrol
A/T
2WD
7-seat
36,490

Si
2.2L diesel
M/T
4WD
7-seat
39,990

Si
A/T
7-seat
41,990

SLi
2.2L diesel
A/T
7-seat
45,990

Platinum
2.2L diesel
A/T
7-seat
48,990

So the prices on the Sorento article CA posted on it’s launch aren’t drive away? I thought it was compulsory for cars to be advertised at drive away prices.

Safety Frist

Wonder what sort of sweetener the people of Georgia gave up for the factory to be built down there???
Like all the other states I’d wager that one of the main ones was the exclusion of the UAW.
An extract from a letter written to the intermountain.com about the sorts of subsidies given by the exact same senators standing in the way of the Detroit assistance package points to the dealing being done. Whilst all the time people are carrying on about The D3 owing being backed by Govco

[Quote]” Perhaps Sen. Shelby isn’t really that blind. Maybe he realizes the quality shift to American. Maybe it’s the fact that his state of Alabama has given so much to land factories from Honda, Hyundai and Mercedes Benz that he is more concerned about their continued growth than he is about the people of our country. Sen. Shelby’s disdain for “government subsidies” is very hypocritical. In the early ’90s he was the driving force behind a $253 million incentive package to Mercedes. Plus, Alabama agreed to purchase 2,500 vehicles from Mercedes. While the bridge loan the Big Three is requesting will be paid back, Alabama’s $180,000-plus per job was pure incentive. Sen. Shelby, not only are you out of touch, you are a self-serving hypocrite, who is prepared to ruin our nation because of lack of knowledge and lack of due diligence in making your opinions and decisions “[end quote]

I only point htis out to show that these foreign manufacturers get looked after well, that is why the build in these strange places.
http://skyline The Salesman

Ryan,

Motoring journalists make these comparisons all the time. Why would a car company not benchmark itself against those with the best practices?

Ryan

Nothing wrong with aiming high. However I’m yet to see a motoring journalist compare Kia to BMW/Lexus/Audi/Merc etc… You’re saying they do it all the time. Quick flick on CA reviews of the premium brands, I don’t see Kia mentioned anywhere. Even looking at the last couple of Kia articles, no mention of premium brands there either. Why? Because they’re chalk and cheese. Would you care to post a link to an article that compares Kia to them? You can aim to get anywhere, just because you are aiming, doesn’t mean you are there, if that makes sense.

Tim

The Salesman sells Kia’s so his points regarding any Korean vehicles are invalid.
Rhubarb

Hey Car Advice…i’d love to see a comparo between BMW X5, Mercedes M-Class and the new Kia Sorento, please. If BMW and Mercedes are game enough to provide vehicles that is.

Ryan

What the? Salesman posted a link and it disappeared.
http://carz.com/ Carz

Great job Kia! It’s high time US recognize how great Kia cars are now. They are definitely improving for the best.

Martin

Yeah, now if Australia would get over itself and realise that too.

But we all know that is never going to happen…

Jo

I wonder if the Sorento will be as reliable as the >2007 models given that they’re made in the US now. The older Sorento (07-on) was bullet-proof.
Ryan

Umm, is that the best article you can find? This article is a general article which inherently mentions a lot of different brands. It’s not what I meant. Find me an article where it specifically compares the premium luxury brands to Kia. Say, as a competitor, alternative etc. Even a review, where competitors are listed below like on CA. You won’t mate. Hence my point stands