Kia, together with its suppliers, plans to invest around €1.8 billion in a new plant in India. The investment underscores the companies’ confidence in the growth potential of the Indian automotive market. The initiative is expected to create 12,000 new jobs across Kia, its service providers, and suppliers.
Covering an area of 188 hectares — equivalent to over 250 football fields — the new plant will support the same four production processes as the first factory, involving stamping, welding, painting, and assembly. This will increase Kia’s annual production capacity in Anantapur from 400,000 to 600,000 vehicles.
Kia’s second plant in India is set to begin operations in 2030. This will give the manufacturer greater flexibility to respond to customer demand and introduce both new internal combustion engine models and electric vehicles.
Kia’s India CEO, Gwanggu Lee, said, “India is central to Kia’s long-term growth ambitions, and the trust our customers have placed in us since we began operations in Anantapur has been instrumental in our journey.” The CEO said the investment shows the company’s commitment to India’s automotive ecosystem, building on the “strong” foundation Kia has already established there. The new plant should enable the South Korean company to serve both domestic and overseas markets. “Our second manufacturing plant marks a significant new chapter, strengthening our ability to respond to customer demand with greater speed and flexibility, while supporting the introduction of new models across ICE and EV powertrains,” said the executive.
Since August 2019, Kia has been producing vehicles in series at its first plant in Anantapur, initially only models with internal combustion engines. In June 2025, the assembly of its first electric model, the Kia Carens Clavis EV, a 4.55-metre-long electric SUV, began there. In July 2026, local production of the Kia Syros EV, a compact SUV measuring 3.99 metres in length, was also added.
