2012 Kia Optima release date; production moving to Georgia

[ahmed_7erzon]

2012 Kia Optima release date set for third quarter of 2011. Kia Optima production moving to Georgia, USA!

Kia Motors America has officially announced it plans to transfer production of its 2012 Optima mid-size sedan to the USA. Starting later this fall, the all-new 2012 Kia Optima will be produced at the carmaker’s manufacturing plant in West Pont, Georgia which currently produces Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe crossover vehicles.

“The success of the West Point, Georgia plant and the high-quality Sorento CUV built there underscores the attention to detail and commitment to quality and craftsmanship exhibited by each KMMG team member and is the primary reason for Kia’s decision to add Optima to the plant’s production line,” told Byung Mo Ahn, group president and CEO, Kia Motors America.



The 2012 Kia Optima will be built alongside the brisk-selling Sorento crossover, which has been the most popular Kia vehicle in the US-market last year. With sales of more than 123.500 units in 2010, the US-produced Sorento crossover represented 30 percent of Kia Motors America’s total sales.

The move of the 2012 Optima production from South Korea to the USA will further increase the number of people working at Kia’s U.S. production plant. The automaker is currently accepting applications for a third wave of hiring to support the increased production. The total number of team members at Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia is expected to reach nearly 3.000 by the year’s end.