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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]
I would have assumed they sold them there already, because why not? Fewer barriers to entry than other countries.
And that photo there, the Forte and Sportage are imposed at the same angle, with their wheels turned to the left. The Sorento is straight on, with no wheel turn. Grr. Lighting is different between the vehicles. Also only the plate on the Forte is readable, looks like the other two were forcibly blurred!
The relative sizes of the vehicles look off, too. Shitty, careless artwork.
After one year of market presence in Mexico, Hyundai already has 2% market share:
http://bestsellingcarsblog.com/2015/06/mexico-may-2015-hyundai-breaks-2-000-monthly-units-milestone/
(After decades in the US, Mazda can’t seem to exceed 2% market share.)
Kia should do quite well in Mexico.
The Dodge Attitude was a badge-engineered Hyundai Accent that was sold for several years in Mexico, so Hyundai already had a presence there.
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.