Kia India builds passenger vehicles, including the Seltos, Sonet and Carens, at its plant at Penukonda in Andhra Pradesh. The plant serves both the domestic market and exports.
Ownership and structure
Kia India Private Limited is a subsidiary of Kia Corporation of South Korea.
What India does for Kia
India is a production and export base for Kia, with its Anantapur plant supplying the domestic market and overseas markets.
Investment and deals
Kia committed about US$1.1 billion, or Rs 6,950 crore, to its Anantapur plant in Andhra Pradesh when it signed an agreement with the state in April 2017.
Kia's India business
Kia India was founded in May 2017 and began mass production at its Anantapur plant in August 2019. The plant started with installed capacity of 300,000 units a year and has since expanded to more than 350,000 units.
Kia rolled out its 1.5 millionth locally produced vehicle, a Carens, on April 25, 2025. As of November 2025, Kia directly employed over 3,000 people at the plant, with nearly 75 percent of the workforce drawn from the state.
Key moves in India
- 2017: Kia signed an agreement with Andhra Pradesh in April for a plant of about 300,000 units a year and founded Kia India in May.
- 2019: Trial production began in January and mass production of the Seltos started in July.
- 2024: Kia had exported more than 100,000 kits from the Anantapur plant by November.
- 2025: Kia rolled out its 1.5 millionth locally produced vehicle on April 25.
Where it operates
Kia runs its India business from Anantapur.
At a glance
- Home country: South Korea
- Global headquarters: Seoul
- Sector: Manufacturing & Supply Chains
- Business: Automotive
- Role of India: Sales market, Manufacturing base, Export base
- India entity: Kia India Private Limited
- India head office: Anantapur
- India offices: Anantapur
- India headcount: 3,000+ (2025)
- In India since: 2017
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