One Millionth Kia Built in America
The 2014 Kia Sorento SXL was the one millionth Kia to roll off of Georgia assembly lines.
Nowadays, it’s hard to tell just where your vehicle was built. A lot of foreign automakers are building their cars right here in the U.S. to save on shipping costs, and in doing so, employing millions of American workers. Kia is one such company, and the Korean automaker just produced its one-millionth vehicle in the States.
The one-millionth Kia built in America – a snow white pearl 2014 Sorento SXL – rolled off the assembly line at Kia’s West Point, GA manufacturing plant. The facility opened in November, 2009 as part of a $1 billion investment by Kia to begin Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc (KMMG).
The new manufacturing arm of Kia created more than 11,000 jobs for West Point, GA residents and those in surrounding areas. The plant added the Optima after a $100 million expansion in 2012 that increased annual production capacity to 360,000 vehicles.
“Building one million vehicles in less than four years is a tremendous achievement and one that each one of our more than 3,000 team members can take great pride in,” said Byung Mo Ahn, Group President and CEO for Kia Motors America and KMMG, in a press release.
Press and workers look on as the One Millionth Kia built in America is completed.
“People are the heart and soul of this company, and our team members’ commitment to world class quality is one of the major driving forces behind Kia’s unprecedented sales and market share growth in the U.S. over the last few years.”
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