FORDISM IS GLOBALIZATION & PROLETARIANIZATION

Kia names launch date of plant in Kazakhstan's Kostanay region

Photo: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Madina Usmanova

Kazakhstan Materials 

10 September 2024 

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, September 10. Kia car plant in the Kostanay region of Kazakhstan will be launched in October 2025, said General Director of the enterprise Kim Dae-Ki, Trend reports.

He made the remark during a visit by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the plant, the construction of which began in October 2023.

"The first test vehicle is expected to roll off the assembly line in July next year. The plant will be launched in October 2025, and at the initial stage, the car company plans to produce the Sorento model. The updated Sportage model will be produced from January 2026," he said.

Tokayev was also informed that the plant's design capacity is approximately 70,000 cars per year. The plant will create 1,500 permanent jobs. It is planned to use technological solutions that ensure high efficiency and environmental friendliness of production. It will be a modern, automated enterprise equipped with 70 robots on the welding, painting, and assembly lines of cars.

The cost of the project is $200 million, of which about 80 percent is direct foreign investment.

Noteworthy that, during the visit, Tokayev was also presented with a project to create a cluster of components next to the new plant. Construction of the Localization Center has already begun. Kia is pulling out all the stops to bring in global suppliers of components and spare parts for cars.