Kia will invest $200 million (US currency) in its plant in West Point, Georgia to launch North American production of its next all-electric model, the EV9.
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The project will entail expanding the plant and hiring an additional 200 workers to assemble the EV9, starting in early 2024. The plant, located southwest of Atlanta, currently produces 340,000 vehicles a year, including the Telluride, Sorrento and Sportage SUVs, as well as the K5 sedan.
As of 2021, Kia employed 2,700 workers at that facility.
Hyundai Group, the parent company of Kia, has already committed $5.5 billion to build an electric vehicle assembly and battery manufacturing plant in Ellabell, Georgia, near Savannah. The company has also invested $300 million in its Montgomery, Alabama plant, to begin manufacturing electric vehicles among them the Genesis Electrified GV70 SUV. Hyundai has hired 200 additional workers as part of its investment there.
The EV9 will offer three rows, a configuration many EV-ready buyers have been waiting for before making the leap. The first EV9s were delivered last month in South Korea.
“The EV9 has the potential to be another change catalyst for Kia. This will be the most innovative vehicle that we have ever built and will be a standout in the EV market and on the road.”
- Kia CEO Sean Yoon