BackTamil Nadu offers 400 acres to South Korea’s Kia Motors
Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have also been trying to woo the South Korean automobile maker
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Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday said that it has offered nearly 400 acres of land for Seoul-based automobile manufacturer Kia Motors Corp., an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co.
“After visiting Tamil Nadu, they asked us about 400 acres of land, and we have offered about 390 acres. I am hopeful that they will set up factory in Tamil Nadu," said M.C. Sampath, industries minister in the state assembly.
Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have also been trying to woo the South Korean automobile maker.
It was reported last month that Kia Motors would pick a site by August for its first factory in India, stepping up plans to start making cars in one of the world’s fast-growing auto markets.
Also read: Kia Motors expected to pick site for first India plant next month: report
Reuters had reported in July that the proposed factory would start production in 2019 and eventually have capacity to make 300,000 Kia vehicles a year—a major bet for a firm that sold 3.05 million vehicles last year.
It’s affiliate Hyundai Motor, with two factories in Chennai at a combined annual capacity of 680,000 vehicles, is India’s second-biggest auto maker by sales and the country’s biggest auto exporter.
Hyundai shares parts and vehicle underpinnings with Kia, which Hyundai bought at the height of the Asian financial crisis in 1998. Differentiating their brands has been a challenge, as they compete in similar segments and markets.
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