Kia Opens First Plant Focused on EV Production

South Korean automaker Kia Motors has opened its first electric-vehicle-only manufacturing plant at Autoland Gwangmyeong, South Korea. The new EV-only plant (EVO) will mass manufacture two lines of low-cost EV models — the Kia EV3 and Kia EV4 as part of Kia’s plans to become a leading EV maker.

With a capacity of 150,000 electric cars per year, the new facility will also be Hyundai Motor Group’s first electric-vehicle-only manufacturing facility. Kia CEO Choi Joon-Young said the facility’s completion marked Kia’s first step towards becoming a “leading EV brand.” Speaking during the facility’s completion ceremony, Joon-young said Kia would develop next-gen EVs at the Kia Gwangmyeong EVO plant.

Kia has already begun mass producing the EV3, and the carmaker started taking preorders of the compact SUV in Korea in June at $30,700. After receiving more than 10,000 reservations  in only 23 days, the EV3 could help Kia gain a strong foothold in its home market, especially now that customers are clamoring for affordable electric cars.

Kia first unveiled the EV3 during its first electric vehicle day in October 2023 and is set to sell the EV at $30,700 pretax benefits and $29,200 after incentives. The Kia EV3 goes for nearly 36,000 euros ($40,000) in Europe and has a WLTP range of up to 372 miles.

CEO Joon-Young said the recently completed plant marks a “history of EVs” for Kia. The Hyundai Motor Group subsidiary will start building the EV4, referred to by Kia as a completely new kind of electric sedan, at the Kia Gwangmyeong EVO Plant in the first six months of 2025. Although the EV4 Sedan will be smaller than the EV3, both electric cars will draw most of their design and technology features from the EV9.

Kia has been spotted doing test runs of the Kia EV4 Sedan as well as a hatchback model in Europe. The EV4 is expected to cost around $35,000 to $40,000 with deliveries set to begin in 2025. According to a Kia official, both the EV3 and EV4 models will be instrumental in popularizing battery electric cars within and without Kia’s native Korea.

The new plant will serve as a key production hub for Kia as it ramps up electric vehicle production. In the meantime, Hyundai Motors Group is set to build the Metaplant America (HMGMA) in Georgia as early as November with the 2025 IONIQ 5 being the facility’s first vehicle.

When these affordable EVs reach the market, other competitors such as Nikola Corporation (NASDAQ: NKLA) could feel the pressure to also bring to market models within that price range, so that they aren’t muscled out of the market.

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