Kia Motors Slovakia produced more than 500,000 vehicles and launches the volume production of a new model Hyundai ix35

At the end of 2009, the 500,000^th car rolled off the assembly lines at Kia plant near Zilina since the launch of volume production in December 2006. The 500,000^th car happened to be Kia cee’d_sw in white colour with the diesel 1.6-litre engine, manual transmission and trim level EX. On January 15, 2010, t he company also launched the volume production of Hyundai ix35 which is the third model in its production portfolio.

"The successful production is a result of hard working effort of all our employees and thanks to that we have already produced more than 500,000 cars. I am very glad that we are achieving a high efficiency of the production lines as well as high-quality of cars produced in our factory, "said In-Kyu Bae, President and CEO of Kia Motors Slovakia.

Besides the car production, Kia also aims to contribute responsibly to the development of the Zilina region. After the successful implementation of the Employee Grant Program and Our Zilina project, the company decided to donate the 500,000^th produced vehicle to the Transplantation Center in Martin. "This car will be used for transfers of surgery teams and organs for transplantation in Slovakia. Thanks to it, we can improve and increase the safety of our work aimed to save human lives," said Viliam Grajciar, Economy Deputy of Faculty Hospital in Martin.

Kia Motors Slovakia plans to continue to keep the employment on the level of 2,800 employees in 2010 and increase the number of produced cars thanks to the production of two new models. Volume production of the new Hyundai ix35 was launched on January 15, 2010, and a brand new Kia Sportage will be produced from June 2010. Hyundai ix35 belongs to the category of compact, midsize, sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and will replace the highly successful model Tucson. Compared to its predecessor, the ix35 has a larger interior cabin and provides several entirely new features that enhance the practicality and ensure greater driving comfort. Improved aerodynamics in combination with better technology ensures significantly lower fuel consumption and CO₂ emission reduction for the model ix35. Setting up the production lines and technology installation for its production took place in the plant Kia Motors Slovakia gradually throughout the year 2009.

In 2009 Kia Motors Slovakia produced more than 150,000 cars. More than 38% of production represents Kia cee'd five-door version. Last year, 21% of all produced vehicles were exported to Russia, the largest export market. Kia Motors Slovakia also produces engines as the only car producer in the Slovak Republic. In 2009, the company produced more than 243,000 units which represent a 37% increase year-on-year. The number of produced engines significantly increased due to the 3-shift operation launched in September 2009 to supply the engines to the Czech plant Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech in Nosovice. Besides the initially produced 1.4 and 1.6-liter gasoline as well as 1.6 and 2.0-liter diesel engine, the company also started to produce a new 1.4-liter diesel.