Kia marks a decade of European production in Slovakia

Kia Motors yesterday marks the 10^th anniversary of production in Europe. From the official launch of volume production on 7 December 2006, over 2.5 million vehicles and 3.8 million engines have rolled off production lines at Kia Motors Slovakia in Žilina.

The company has invested more than 1.7 billion euros (Rs 12,994 crore) since its arrival in Slovakia, generating over 20,000 jobs directly at the plant and among 40 of the facility’s most significant Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers. Operating three production shifts each day, Kia alone employs approximately 3,800 people. Kia currently manufactures the cee’d model family, Sportage and Venga at the facility, and exports to 95 countries worldwide. 14 percent of models produced in Žilina are right-hand drive cars, while almost 40,000 Kia cars produced in Kia’s only European plant are present on Slovak roads.

Eek-Hee Lee, president and CEO of Kia Motors Slovakia, said: “In the past decade, our company has become one of the biggest employers, producers, exporters and taxpayers in Slovakia. I would like to express my deep thanks mainly to our employees for their effort and passion. They have been the major force in achieving our production and business results over the past decade, and pushed the company to become one of the most efficient production facilities across the Hyundai Motor Group.”

The initial investment for building the plant represented 700 million euros. The Korean manufacturer has continuously invested into production of new models at the facility, as well as installation of new technologies. In 2016, Kia has invested 60 million euros in Žilina, with plans to invest a further 130 million euros in 2017 in innovating the company’s existing product portfolio.

Kia Sportage current best-seller

In the last 10 years, the most popular model produced by Kia in Žilina has been the Kia cee’d model family, accounting for 45 percent of the total number of vehicles manufactured so far, followed by the brand’s current European best-seller, the Kia Sportage. The most popular colours among customers are black, white and silver.

Every day, two trains and 90 transporters are dispatched, sending 1,400 cars to 95 countries globally. Since 2006, Kia has exported most of its vehicles to Russia (18 percent), the UK (12 percent), Germany (9 percent), Spain (6 percent), and Italy (6 percent). Žilina has also produced a series of unique fleet orders for the Slovak and Polish Police Forces, Czech Post, Slovak representatives of an international car rental company, as well as both the biggest pharmaceutical manufacturer and mobile service provider in Poland.

The plant is home to two engine production shops. The facility’s 1.6-litre diesel engine is the single most popular engine produced in Slovakia, accounting for 20 percent of the total engine production to date, though the majority of the 3.8 million units produced are petrol engines (53 percent). Almost half of the engines produced by Kia are exported to Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech in Nošovice in the Czech Republic.

Among the most favoured long-term employee benefits are direct bus lines provided by the company. 32 company buses transport employees to and from work and cover 10,275 km throughout the Žilina region every day – almost 2.5 million km annually, and equivalent to one bus driving around the world more than 62 times in a year.

Recommended: Kia Motors set to enter India