Kia to build $1.1 bln plant in India amid falling sales in China

By Park Sae-jin Posted : April 27, 2017, 16:38 Updated : April 27, 2017, 16:38

[Photo by Park Sae-jin ]


South Korea's Kia Motors forged a deal to build a plant in India, one of the world's fast-growing auto markets, as it posted a 19 percent drop in its first-quarter net profit due to weak demand in China and the United States.

Under its 1.1 billion US dollar project, Kia will build the plant with an annual output of 300,000 small sedans and SUVs in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh by 2019.

The plant will help Kia boost its annual overseas production capacity to 2.26 million units. At home, it has a production capacity of 1.59 million units. Kia's parent company, Hyundai Motor, runs two plants in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, with a combined capacity of 650,000 units.

Kia's first quarter net profit fell to 765.4 billion won ($678 million) from 944.5 billion won a year earlier. Operating profit slipped 40 percent to 382.8 billion won while sales rose 1.5 percent to 12.84 trillion won.

Sales in China plunged 45 percent on-year to 77,000 units due to anti-Korean sentiment caused by the deployment of a US missile shield in South Korea. Sales in the United States were also down 21 percent to 75,000 because due to a lack of new models.

Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com

 
기사 이미지 확대 보기
닫기