Kia Officially Launches Brand In Mexico, Sales Beginning In July
Kia officially announced Wednesday it is launching the brand in Mexico, with sales to begin July 1 of this year.
The automaker will sell its wares at 21 dealerships in 10 major cities across Mexico next month, with three models — Forte, Sportage and Sorento — the first to be offered for sale; the Optima will join the lineup by this November.
In the near term, Kia will continue to add dealerships to its newest network, with 26 more expected by next January, 65 total by January 2017.
As for where some of those Kias may come from, construction of the automaker’s first factory in Mexico, located in Pesqueria, Nuevo León, is 50 percent complete, with operations to begin by the middle of 2016. Pilot production will occur over five months to ensure final product quality prior to the first showroom-ready models leaving the line, some of which will head for other Latin American markets, as well as the United States. Annual production is set for 300,000 units, with the Forte and a possible compact set for assembly.
Once in operation the Pesqueria plant will boost global production to 3.7 million units annually, and will employ 3,000 on the floor; an additional 7,000 will be hired by suppliers nearby.
[Photo credit: Kia]
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I guess KIA is living up to their motto, because I'm surprised they're not there already... (BTW, I don't like surprises.)
Arguably, more important than the launch of the brand/sales is Kia's Mexico plant getting closer to completion. Will help with not only the supply of Fortes, but presumably the Sportage and possibly a variant of the Soul.