Kia to have a plant in Andhra Pradesh

Kia Motors of Korea is deciding on a site for its first factory that will be set up in India. The finalization is expected to be done by next month. India is the fastest growing automobile market and Kia would do its best to establish itself in this ever-growing market. Kia seems to have finalised Andhra Pradesh as the state so far. There has been no official announcement from the company yet though.

There are talks that the company is looking at getting 600 acres of land in Andhra Pradesh.

Earlier, the Kia Venga has been spotted testing in Chennai. The Korean manufacturer, part of Hyundai group has been working on setting up a plant in India. The spy spics suggest that the company is already on the job and is currently testing some of its vehicles likely to make it to India. Maharashtra and Gujarat state governments were wanting Kia Motors to have its factory in their state. However, it seems that Kia will be using the same set of vendors like Hyundai and their plant won’t be too far from Hyundai’s.

Kia cars for India

Kia has been eyeing the Indian market for many years, but has so far refrained from making investments due to the global slowdown. Initial feasibility studies by Kia have been completed, though.

The Kia Venga if planned for India will only be launch by late 2018, after the company sees up its plant and dealer network in the country.The Kia Venga may have been brought to India to test the components and platform in Indian conditions. The Vega is due for an upgrade globally. The Kia Venga is available with a 1.

4-litre petrol engine with 89bhp and 140Nm of torque and also a  1.6-litre petrol developing 124bhp and 159Nm of torque.

A 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre diesel engines developing 75 bhp with 245Nm of torque and 126bhp with 265Nm of torque, respectively, are also available. Transmission options include five and six-speed manual and a six-speed automatic transmission.

The Kia Venga, if launched, will be more of a mini MPV between compact seven-seater MPVs and premium hatchbacks. It could appeal who demand spacious interiors and could directly rival the Honda Jazz and likes.

The entry of Kia will make Indian market more competitive. Even Toyota is also planning to drive in small cars by Daihatsu. The Daihatsu cars, most-likely will be sold under the Toyota branding as the Japanese company looks to ride on its long-standing brand equity and retail network.

Kia plant in Andhra Pradesh?

Hyundai’s sister company Kia’s likely plant location is about 80kms away from Hyundai’s Tamil Nadu plant. This means that sharing vendors won’t a difficult task. At the same time, Hyundai could get some of its vehicles manufactured in the Kia plant as well.

This move would enable Kia to leverage the existing supplier base of Hyundai Motor Co, which is an affiliate of Kia. The proposed factory would look at starting production in 2019 and eventually build a capacity to make 300,000 vehicles per year. Both the companies will be operating separately and will have their own set of dealerships. Both have been operating separately globally as well and the same will be followed for the Indian car market.

Tamil Nadu Announcement

Tamil Nadu has offered 390 acre plot to Kia Motors, as announced by TN Industries Ministry M C Sampath. Kia is looking for 400 acres of land and the state government at the moment is offering 390 acres of it. This is the recent development.