Hyundai announced that its subsidiary, Kia, will build compact cars at the automaker's new plant in West Point, Georgia. According to executives, rising demand for fuel-efficient cars prompted the decision."We have plans to have the Georgia plant produce small cars," Hyundai Vice Chairman Kim Dong-jin, said in a news release. "The market environment changed rapidly, like higher oil prices, environmental issues. We have a strong presence in the small-car segment."
Kia executives in 2006 announced they would build a $1.2 billion plant at West Point, near the Alabama line in west-central Georgia. Slated to open in late 2009, it is expected to generate 2,500 new jobs and produce around 300,000 vehicles a year, officials said.
The plant will be Kia's first in North America. Hyundai currently has a plant in Montgomery, Alabama; it assembles the Sonata and Santa Fe. It is not confirmed whether the next-generation Sorento (XM) is still scheduled to be assembled in West Point as well.
