The Andhra Pradesh government will proactively support Korean investors to further invest in new ventures in the State, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said.
‘Success will inspire’
Inaugurating the KIA Motors India car manufacturing facility at Erramanchi village in Anantapur district on Thursday, Mr. Reddy said he foresaw a great potential for the world class facility to grow. “Success story of KIA Motors India will inspire others to set up industries in the State thus providing jobs to locals as a new industrial atmosphere is created,” he said.
The company, currently manufacturing 70,000 units of KIA Seltos will very soon reach its targetted production capacity of three lakh cars per annum, he added. Beseeching the KIA management to reach out to the State government for any need, Mr. Reddy said he would be happy to serve them any time in a proactive manner.
Currently 3,000 persons are employed directly in the KIA Motors India facility and 3,569 in the ancillary units, which will go up to 18,000 together in the days to come, the CM explained.
Vrooming in a down turn
KIA Motors Corporation President and CEO Han Woo Park said it was a proud moment for the company to become India's fourth largest automobile manufacturer within 100 days of its operation. “At a time when the automobile industry was witnessing a downtrend, the feature-rich KIA Seltos was in heavy demand with 6,069 bookings on Day One,” said Mr. Park.
Announcing the launch of its next model, KIA Carnival in early 2020, the Mr. Park said it would give a tough competition to its rivals as it was loaded with sophistication using the latest technology to provide ultimate luxury and comfort.
Best success story
Korean Ambassador to India Shin Bong-kil termed KIA Motors’ venture as the best success story of Indo-Korean bilateral ties. The factory set up with $1.2 billion had produced 12,000 car units by November, he pointed out thanking the local government for its cooperation.
Andhra Pradesh Cabinet ministers Botcha Satyanarayana, M. Sankara Narayana, Gautam Reddy, G. Jayaram, Hindupur MP Gorantla Madhav and Govt. Whip Kapu Ramachandra Reddy were also present.
