From Georgia comes Kia's latest ride
By Dave Hodges
DEMOCRAT BUSINESS EDITOR
January 30, 2010
Bathed in floodlights and adorned with red, white and blue balloons, the car appeared to have celebrity status even before you could get close enough to learn the whole story.
Melanie Lee, general manager of Kia AutoSport on West Tennessee Street, had the open house Thursday night to get that word out. The shiny 2011 Sorrento in "white sand beige" and leather seats came not from South Korea but West Point, Ga.
There, Kia Motors America invested $1 billion at the 2,200-acre site to build a plant that will turn out up to 300,000 vehicles a year, Lee said.
She is particularly excited about the Georgia product — her family also owns the Kia dealerships in Albany and Columbus. Having product made practically in their backyard is no doubt a source of pride and of interest to potential customers as well.
"I know having a vehicle manufactured in the United States will be huge," Lee said, adding that car shoppers often tell her they'd consider a Kia along with the American makes if it, too, were a domestic product.
Kia's California and Michigan centers are devoted to automotive design and research. West Point is the first production facility here, and it has generated about 2,500 jobs, plus another 7,500 for suppliers. Lee says two more models will be produced there as output grows.
For 2009, Kia reported its 15th consecutive year of increased U.S. market share, up 46 percent over 2008. Lee looks ahead with optimism. "We are very positive. We had a great January," she said. "Customers are putting us on their shopping list more and more these days, which is exciting to us."
A few feet from the Sorrento was a bright red Kia Soul, the sporty model that you may have seen four hamsters riding around in on TV. Lee says with a grin that Kia's Super Bowl commercial will follow that same theme, though she wouldn't divulge who'll be driving.
Guess we'll have to watch and find out.
Dave Hodges
Business Editor
