KIA Motors produced the 3 millionth car in Europe in 12 years. after the founding of the plant in Žilina, Slovakia.
The car with 3 million is the KIA Side. The model is a 5-door hatchback in the GT range, produced for the brand's customer in Iceland. It is equipped with a 1-liter T-GDi (turbo-petrol engine with direct injection).
In 2017, KIA Motors Slovakia registered the production of 335,600 vehicles and 539,987 engines with exports to 80 countries. The most popular engine last year was the 1.7-liter CRD diesel.
3 models of the brand's European line are produced in Zilina - the widely popular KIA Ceed (www.kmanual.net/en/Ceed) in hatchback, station wagon and 3-door versions, the best-selling KIA-Sportage (www.kmanual.net/en/Sportage) and a compact representative in segment MPV - Venga. Since May 2013, KIA MotorsS Slovakia has been producing the first models of the brand's sports line - cee'd GT and pro_cee'd GT. Cars produced in Žilina account for almost 50% of the brand's total sales in Europe.
The KIA plant has a reputation for producing high quality vehicles, playing a key role in the brand's unparalleled 7-year warranty.
The model range, developed, designed and produced in Europe, especially for European consumers, represents 50% of the plant's capacity in Zilina. To date, KIA has produced 1.3 million side models. Since its launch in 2006-2012 646,300 first generation seids were sold. The production of the second generation is 647,700. From June this year, the third generation will be produced. Like its predecessors, the model will be assembled exclusively in Europe and is designed for consumers on the Old Continent.
Zilina also produces 3 generations of the Sportage compact SUV. From 2007 to the present, a total of 1.4 million units of this model have been sold, of which 104,500 are the second generation, 797,500 are the third generation, and 492,000 units of the current model launched at the end of 2015.
In addition to creating the most popular European models, Zilina is also the European center for the production of KIA engines, which since 2006 have exceeded 4 million.
KIA Motors Slovakia is responsible for the production of a range of petrol (1.4L MPI, 1.6L GDI, as well as 1.6L T-GDI with 204 hp for GT models) and diesel engines (1.4L, 1 .6L and 1.7L CRDi and 2L 'R') engines. The base will produce a new 1.6-liter U3 diesel engine, which will be used in future KIA models (www.kmanual.net/en), including the third generation KIA Ceed.
A report by London Economics, a leading independent economics consulting firm, titled "The Economic and Social Benefits of Kia's Presence in Europe" highlights the significant role of the South Korean company. Income tax, customs duties and other payments by KIA to the European government in 2016 amounted to 1.2 billion euros. Due to the constant increase in production capacity at the KIA Motors plant, Slovakia bought 73% of the supply for a total of 3.8 billion euros.
According to the report, the brand's presence in Europe employs 184,386 people employed by KIA directly or indirectly by the company's suppliers, retailers or distributors.
