Kia Motors, South Korea's second-largest automobile manufacturer and a subsidiary of Korean auto giant Hyundai, is reportedly close to identifying the site for its plant in India.
Kia, which is looking to enter the Indian market, is likely to pick up a site for its first plant in the country next month, reported Reuters.
The foray of Kia Motors in India has been rumoured for long, and the company is said to have carried out several studies on the feasibility in the Indian market. Although the investment part and the product portfolio of the company are yet to be known, it was being said that the company will majorly look to take on the likes of small cars from Maruti Suzuki. Kia Motors is known for its affordable range of small cars.
The proposed plant of Kia is likely to become operational in 2019 and would be looking at producing 300,000 units of vehicles in a year. Kia has three locations in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat under consideration and is likely to announce the decision by September.
It was reported earlier that Kia is likely to select Tada in Andhra Pradesh as its manufacturing site due to the proximity to Hyundai India's plant at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. The plant of Kia Motors would also be utilised by Hyundai for the production of some of its models.
