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| Kia Sohari production plant in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province / Yonhap |
Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Monday its unionized workers have accepted the plan to build an electrified purpose-built vehicle plant in South Korea.
Kia said it will complete the PBV plant in the Autoland Hwaseong plant by the end of 2024 and start producing mid-sized PBVs from July 2025.
The maker of the K5 sedan and the Sorento SUV aims to initially produce 100,000 electrified PBVs a year in Autoland Hwaseong, just south of Seoul, and double the output volume in the mid term depending on market demand.
A building in the Hwaseong plant will be converted into an e-PBV plant, a company spokesman said.
PBVs can be used as robo taxis, unmanned cargo carriers, movable office or for other purposes.
Hyundai Motor Group plans to introduce the PBV-dedicated platform named 'eS' in 2025. The group has Kia, its bigger affiliate Hyundai Motor Co. and auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co. as the main affiliates under its wing.
Kia has eight plants in South Korea and seven overseas ― three in China and one each in the United States, Slovakia, Mexico and India. Their overall capacity is 3.84 million units. (Yonhap)
