Kia drops €1.8B on a second India plant, aiming for 2030 start

Kia is planting a second factory in India. The South Korean automaker says the plant will rise in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh — right alongside its first one — and will eventually roll out up to 200,000 vehicles a year, mixing electric cars with combustion-engine models. Kia and its suppliers are putting roughly €1.8 billion behind the bet, and the company expects 12,000 new jobs across its own operations, its service providers and its supply chain.

The site sprawls across 188 hectares, which Electrive notes is more than 250 football fields' worth of ground. It will run the same four production steps as the neighbouring factory: stamping, welding, painting and assembly. That pushes Kia's annual capacity in Anantapur to 600,000 vehicles, up from 400,000 today. Operations are targeted for 2030.

Kia's India CEO Gwanggu Lee framed the move as a long game. He said India sits at the centre of Kia's long-term growth ambitions and credited customer trust built since the company started operating in Anantapur. The second plant, he said, is a significant new chapter that sharpens Kia's ability to answer demand faster and with more flexibility, while opening the door to new models across both ICE and EV powertrains, per Electrive.

Kia has been building cars in Anantapur since August 2019, starting with combustion models only. Electric assembly arrived in June 2025 with the Kia Carens Clavis EV, a 4.55-metre electric SUV. Local production of the Kia Syros EV, a compact 3.99-metre SUV, was added in July 2026. The second plant is meant to serve buyers in India and abroad.