Kia to expand capacity in India only after 2025
New Delhi: Kia India, the Indian subsidiary of South Korea’s Kia Corp., one of the leading sport utility vehicle (SUV) makers in India, will explore capacity expansion options only after 2025, despite its facility at Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh operating at more than 100% capacity, a senior company executive told Mint. Kia’s Andhra unit, which started with a capacity of 300,000 units following a $2 billion infusion by the parent, expanded its annual capacity to 350,000 units last year. Now, it seeks to de-bottleneck the existing facility further by removing inefficiencies and optimizing the manufacturing processes to enhance production to 400,000 units, said Hardeep Singh Brar, national head, sales and marketing, Kia India.
During April-August, Kia produced 135,000 cars and is likely to end the fiscal year with sales of 330,000 units, including exports. In the year ago, the company had rolled out 146,000 units. The company is operating two shifts at its Anantpur facility and could increase production by adding another shift.
However, it has no plans to set up a new factory in the near future, a person aware of the company’s plans told Mint. Additionally, Kia may optimize production to focus on a particular model line, such as Seltos, which gives it a majority of volumes focussing more on the domestic market. Kia’s sister brand Hyundai is also set to begin production at General Motors’ Talegaon factory, which was acquired last month, in FY25.
Hyundai, too, began with a capacity of about 600,000 units at the Pune factory and expanded capacity to 900,000 units. The company could ramp up production at this facility by another 200,000 units. However, Kia India is not expected to utilize that capacity, said Brar.
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