Kia settles on first Indian site

South Korea’s Kia Motors was close to finalising the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh as the site for its first factory in the country as it sped up efforts to start production in the fast-growing market, a source said.

South Korea’s Kia Motors is close to finalising the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh as the site for its first factory in the country, as it speeds up efforts to start production in the fast-growing market, a source familiar with the matter said.

Reports of Kia looking to pick a site have been doing the rounds for a while, but an Andhra Pradesh administration official told Reuters in 2016 the state was the frontrunner given its proximity to Tamil Nadu state — home to plants of Kia’s affiliate, Hyundai Motor.

The Korean firms, jointly the world’s No 5 car maker, are chasing new business after missing targets over the past two years. And now there are worries sales to the US, one of their biggest markets, could be affected by protectionist trade policies under President Donald Trump.

India, however, remains a bright spot, with Hyundai — the country’s No 2 car maker by sales — reporting growth there. Kia is hoping to leverage its affiliate’s supply chain network built over nearly two decades to gain a foothold in the market that is tipped to become the world’s third largest by 2020.

Kia is likely in February to choose a site in the district of Ananthapur, Andhra Pradesh, for its factory, the source said, adding that the state had offered about 242.81ha of land to the vehicle maker.

A second source also said that Kia was likely to pick Andhra Pradesh as its factory site. The sources did not want to be named as they were not authorised to talk to the media.

Kia intends to produce small sedans and sport utility vehicles at the plant from July 2019, although the plan is subject to change, a third person said.

Kia Motors CEO Park Hanwoo said the car maker was in the process of picking a site for an Indian factory, without giving any details on location.

“Preparations are going well. We are ready to break ground on the factory anytime,” he said on the sidelines of an industry event in Seoul on Tuesday.

The states of Maharashtra and Gujarat have also been wooing Kia for the factory, Reuters reported in 2016.

Kia is likely to compete with its affiliate Hyundai, Tata Motors, Honda Motor and Maruti Suzuki India in the country, a market skewed towards cars costing less than $7,000. Hyundai is one of a handful of successful foreign car makers in India.

Japan’s Toyota Motor is trying to expand in the country and this week announced a partnership with Suzuki Motor, which dominates the Indian market via its Maruti Suzuki venture.

“Kia cannot afford to miss the India market,” said Ko Tae-bong, an analyst at Hi Investment & Securities.