April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Kia Motors said on Feb. 22 it will produce its SP compact sport utility vehicle in its Indian plant, which will be completed in the second half of next year, to help boost sales in the rapidly growing automobile market there.

Kia is in the process of building a 300,000-unit-a-year plant in the state of Andhra Pradesh in eastern India, the company said in a statement. The plant will give the company a solid base to make inroads into the subcontinent.

The Korean carmaker has not exported its vehicles to the Indian market due to high tariffs reaching up to 60 percent. India is the world’s fourth-biggest automobile market after China, the United States and Japan and has annual sales of 3.7 million units, it said.

Kia introduced the SP Concept, a compact crossover developed for Indian customers, at the Auto Expo 2018 in New Delhi early this month. In addition to the new SUV, the company plans to produce at least three vehicles at the plant in the years following 2019.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)