In December 2020, Kia Motors Slovakia produced the one‑millionth fourth‑generation Kia Sportage. The current generation has been in production since the end of 2015, meaning it took approximately five years to reach the milestone of one million units.
During the first eleven months of this year, Kia Motors Slovakia produced more than 140,000 units of the Sportage. Even in 2020, the Sportage accounted for more than half of the plant’s total production. Changing customer preferences are also evident with this successful model. In recent years, demand has increasingly shifted toward petrol‑powered versions—in 2020, as many as 70% of Sportage models were equipped with gasoline engines. Diesel versions are also available, including electrified mild‑hybrid variants, which are produced at Kia Motors Slovakia. In the current year, more than 24,000 customers received electrified Sportage models.
“The fourth‑generation Kia Sportage remains very popular with customers. Attractive design, high quality, and modern technologies are the main pillars of its success. Its popularity has also been boosted recently by the availability of the electrified mild‑hybrid version, which has so far accounted for more than 18% of Sportage production this year,” said Ján Žgravčák, Spokesperson for Kia Motors Slovakia.
The milestone one‑millionth fourth‑generation Sportage, produced in GT‑Line trim, was displayed at the Kia Motors Slovakia plant at the beginning of December. It will not be delivered to a customer; instead, it was part of a competition in which ten Kia Motors Slovakia employees each won the opportunity to use the vehicle for one month. Participants could win this unique car by correctly answering questions about the Sportage model range.
The Kia Sportage was the second model, after the cee’d, to be produced at Kia Motors Slovakia, with production beginning in 2007 with its second generation. By 2010, more than 100,000 vehicles of that generation had been produced. This was followed by the third generation, which gained popularity among customers across Europe, with nearly 800,000 units rolling off the production lines in Slovakia by 2015.
When all three generations of the Sportage produced at the Kia Motors Slovakia plant in Teplička nad Váhom up to the end of 2020 are combined, total production reaches 1.9 million vehicles. More than half of this figure belongs to the currently produced fourth generation, whose production will continue in 2021.
