The Kia Slovakia plant at Teplicka nad Vahom (Zilina region) has produced its five-millionth car, managing to do so in less than 18 years after the start of mass production at the facility, Kia Slovakia president and CEO Geon Won Shin announced on Tuesday.
The five-millionth vehicle was a Kia Sportage HEV, produced for a customer from Slovakia. It is the Sportage model that dominates the production portfolio of the Zilina carmaker, making up over 2.5 million out of the 5 million car output. The plant also manufactured 2.1 million Ceed models, while the rest were Kia Venga and Hyundai ix35 which are no longer produced in Slovakia. "I would like to thank our employees, contractors and partners for their efforts and devotion. Chiefly thanks to them, we managed to produce 5 million vehicles during our operation in Teplicka nad Vahom, but also to overcome the difficult pandemic periods when there was a lack of components," said president and CEO of Kia Slovakia Geon Won Shin.
Kia Slovakia crossed the threshold of one million manufactured vehicles in 2012, adding another million to it at regular three-year intervals. "Last year we put out a record-high number of 350,000 cars and we plan roughly the same output in the future as well. We currently produce the fifth generation of Sportage and four body versions of Kia Ceed," said company spokesman Tomas Potocek.
According to Economy Ministry's State Secretary Kamil Sasko, the five millionth anniversary is proof of the important place that Kia Slovakia has in our country. "Five million vehicles produced is really something to be proud of. Kia is important for Zilina, but also for the whole region, as it provides qualified jobs for many people, and we must try to support such investors," stressed Sasko.
Kia Slovakia is the only plant of Kia Corporation in Europe. It was built in 2004-06, with car and engine production launched in December 2006. It currently employs 3,800 people.
(TASR)
