Plant Background

On March 18th, 2004, Kia held a signing ceremony at the central government building in Bratislava, Slovakia, to officially authorize the construction of its first European automotive assembly and manufacturing plant in the Slovak Republic. Signatories to the Investment Agreement were Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group Chairman Mong-Koo Chung and Slovakian Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda.

The decision by KMC to invest €1 billion to build its first-ever European facility was based on continued and projected strong sales and market share growth in Europe. The decision is also in alignment with Kia´s plan to be a Top Five automaker by 2010. Kia is currently Europe´s fastest-growing automotive brand, and one of the fastest-growing in the world. Last year in Europe, Kia sold a record 150,000 vehicles and this year plans to export more than 255,000 vehicles.