Kia milestone: cee’d production set to pass 100,000 units landmark!

Kia Motors always claimed that its first-ever assembly facility in Europe — the €1 billion operation at Zilina in Slovakia — would establish new benchmarks for vehicle quality and productivity, aiming to manufacture 100 cars per employee per year when fully operational and becoming the most productive car plant in Europe.

Next Wednesday, that productivity promise will be further endorsed when the 100,000th Kia cee’d, destined for a customer in Denmark, drives off the assembly line and sets another landmark in the developing history of Kia in Europe.

“This is a truly significant day for Kia,” enthused Mr In-Kyu Bae, President and CEO Kia Motors Slovakia (KMS). “The build quality and the productivity levels achieved by our Zilina operations are remarkable. These two factors, plus the style, design, quality and durability of the Kia cee’d cars manufactured in Slovakia, have enabled us to offer the unique Kia 7-Year Warranty on cee’d and to trigger a growing surge in Kia sales across Europe.”

Mr Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Kia Motors Europe, added “Since its launch in Europe in December 2006, more than 80,000 cee’d five-door models have been delivered, and this model, with its 5-Star EuroNCAP safety rating, has played a key role in winning over thousands of new customers to the Kia brand.”

With a highly-trained staff of 2,400 working two shifts, Zilina is already building three Kia models — cee’d five-door hatchback, cee’d Sporty Wagon and Sportage SUV — and will begin production of a fourth model, the Kia pro_cee’d three-door during October.