With sales of the all-new Kia Optima headed north, the automaker is headed south: The company recently announced it would move production of the 2012 Optima to its Kia Motor Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG) facility, located in West Point, Ga. (The current model is now built in South Korea.) And not only will the change help Kia keep up with demand for its hot-selling new sedan, but it will also mean adding a third shift to its Georgia plant, at which point the automaker will have directly created nearly 3,000 jobs there.
It’s a testament to both the continued success of Kia’s design-led product transformation and the hard work already being done at the plant. The KMMG facility is now home to the Kia Sorento, the best-selling model in the automaker’s 2011 lineup. The Sorento crossover attracted more than 123,000 new customers last year alone, representing some 30 percent of Kia’s total in the U.S.
The Optima seems destined to keep that kind of momentum going, thanks to a striking exterior, a comfortable and driver-oriented cabin, three powertrains—including a high-performance turbocharged I4 and a high-efficiency hybrid system—and a trophy case full of industry honors, including:
- Top Safety Pick status from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
- An overall five-star crash safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
- A “Best Buy” nod from Consumer Guide
- A place on the Edmunds’ InsideLine.com “Editors’ Most Wanted” list
- “Best New Model” kudos from Kiplinger’s Personal Finance
- Membership in the Ward’s “10 Best Interiors” club
Production of the 2012 Optima is slated to begin in Georgia in the third quarter of this year.
“The success of the West Point, Georgia, plant and the high-quality Sorento CUV built there underscores the attention to detail and commitment to quality and craftsmanship exhibited by each KMMG team member and is the primary reason for Kia Motors’ decision to add Optima to the plant’s production line,” said Byung Mo Ahn, group president and CEO, Kia Motors America and KMMG. “Kia is experiencing tremendous growth in the U.S., and the increased volume at KMMG will create more jobs at the plant as well as nearby and on-site suppliers, and is the latest demonstration of our unwavering commitment to the U.S. and local economies.”
Comments on this entry are closed.