25,000 vehicles annually in Lagos: KIA
About a year after announcing its plan to
go into local vehicle production, Kia Motors Nigeria has made good its
promise with the inauguration of its assembly plant in Lagos.
The firm said in a statement obtained on
Tuesday that with the unveiling of its new assembly plant, United
Vehicle Assembly Limited, it would be able to produce 25,000 vehicles
per annum.
The statement quoted the Minister of
Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, as expressing his
delight at the successful completion of the new plant.
Aganga, on a visit to the new assembly
plant, was quoted to have said, “I am pleasantly surprised at the level
of success and the advanced technology of this plant. I have visited
different auto assembly plants across the globe and I can tell you that
with the level of the quality assurance control and the sophistication
of the equipment of this assembly plant, it can compete with others
internationally.”
The Chief Executive Officer, UVAL, Mr.
Jacky Hathiramani, said, “The move to establish an assembly plant stems
from the tide of investment aimed at Nigeria and keying into the
country’s automotive policy.
“We are committed to making Nigeria a
leading auto manufacturing country in Africa and to contribute immensely
to the development of the nation through this multi-billion naira
investment.”
He stressed that the plant had employed
engineering graduates from Nigerian universities and would continue to
provide employment for the citizens.
“With today’s opening of our plant in
Lagos, we have taken our growth commitment to a greater height in
Nigeria and reposition our brand to the teeming publics by supporting
the proudly Nigeria dream,” Hathiramani said.
The statement also quoted the Chief
Commercial Officer, Kia Motors Nigeria, Mr. Sandeep Malhotra, as saying,
“The unprecedented stride of Kia brand in the automobile industry in
Nigeria has continued to outpace competitions in offering best in class
automotive technology to its customers.
“Premised on our increased acceptability
among our valued customers in the last decade, we are now looking at
further strengthening our foothold and expanding our reach in the
Nigerian market with the new assembly plant.”
According to the firm, Kia recently launched its made in Nigeria vehicles such as Kia Rio, Cerato, Optima, Sorento and Soul.
It also promised to start producing all
the Kia models, including sedans, sport utility vehicles and pickups
before the end of the year.
“It has continuously embarked on
promising growth trajectory with a positive growth for over a decade,
making it one of the fastest growing automobiles in Nigeria,” the firm
said, adding that this was in a bid to strengthen its leadership role in
the industry.
Founded in 1944, Kia Motor Corporation,
one of the Korea’s oldest manufacturers of motor vehicles, is said to
have the record of producing over 2.5 million vehicles a year.
The statement also said KMC was currently
making vehicles in 15 manufacturing and assembly operations in 10
countries, “which are then sold and serviced through a network of
distributors and dealers covering 149 countries. Kia today has over
47,000 employees worldwide and annual revenues of $39bn.”
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