The one millionth Kia produced at the South Korean automaker’s plant in West Point rolled off the assembly line last week, the company said.
The vehicle was a snow white pearl 2014 Sorento SXL, Kia said. The company began operations at the plant in November 2009 after investing $1 billion to produce the Sorento CUV. The plant, called Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, was expanded last year with an additional $100 million investment, and it added the Optima sedan to production.
The Troup County plant, about 45 minutes southwest of Atlanta, has a capacity for manufacturing 360,000 vehicles each year.
Kia said its first North American plant employs more than 3,000 but is responsible for creating more than 11,000 jobs in the area when related jobs such as suppliers are taken into consideration.
Despite the milestone, the company said the one millionth vehicle will end up on a lot like others before it at one of Kia’s more than 765 dealerships nationwide.
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