Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia Celebrates Five Years of Production with the Launch of All-New 2016 Sorento
Posted on November 17th, 2014 by Patrick Sands
(West Point, GA.) Nov. 17, 2014 – Team members of Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. (KMMG) today celebrated the fifth anniversary of the plant’s official start of mass production. The first U.S.-assembled Kia vehicle – a white 2011 model year Sorento CUV – rolled off KMMG’s assembly line on Nov. 16, 2009, precipitating the plant’s growth to more than 3,000 team members. Together with local suppliers, KMMG is responsible for the creation of more than 14,000 jobs in West Point and the surrounding region. Coincidentally, today also marks the start of production for the completely redesigned, third-generation 2016 Sorento at KMMG.
“I am proud of all that our team members have accomplished during the first five years of production at KMMG,” said Mr. Byung-Mo Ahn, Group Vice Chairman and CEO for Kia Motors America and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia. “Our team members continue to work each day, striving to be the best of the best, and their tireless effort and dedication is evident in everything we do.”
Production of the Sorento at KMMG began with one shift of 1,200 team members, with the plant quickly adding 800 new team members for a second shift of production in 2010, followed by 1,000 more for a third shift in 2011, adding the brand’s best-selling Optima midsize sedan in the process. Having outgrown its capacity by 2011, a $100 million expansion increased KMMG’s annual output from 300,000 units per year to 360,000 units per year. On Nov. 12, KMMG produced its 1,500,000th vehicle, doing so in just under five years of production.
About KMMG
Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. (KMMG) is the first manufacturing site in North America for Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, Korea. With an annual capacity of 360,000 units, KMMG is located on 2,200 acres in West Point, Georgia, and began mass production on Nov. 16, 2009. KMMG is home to the Sorento CUV and the Optima mid-size sedan, two of the brand’s top selling models in the U.S.
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