Kia Corporation today celebrated finishing its new Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) factory, the Hwaseong EVO Plant East, and also started building the EVO Plant West, a big PBV production facility in Korea.
The ceremony took place at Kia's AutoLand Hwaseong plant in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. About 200 people attended, including Min-seok Kim, the Prime Minister of South Korea; Shinhak Moon, Vice Minister of Trade, Industry, and Resources; Dong Yeon Kim, Governor of Gyeonggi Province; Myeong-geun Jeong, Mayor of Hwaseong Special City; and local government officials.
Key leaders from Hyundai Motor Group at the event included Euisun Chung, Executive Chair of Hyundai Motor Group; Ho Sung Song, Kia President and Global CEO; Sung Kim, President and Head of Hyundai Motor Group Strategic Planning Division; and Chang Song, President and Head of Hyundai Motor Group Advanced Vehicle Planning Division.
To build the PBV-focused facilities, including the newly finished EVO Plant East and the planned EVO Plant West (which will open in 2027), Kia has secured a 296,882 square meter site and is investing about KRW 4 trillion in infrastructure and research.
With a combined production capacity of 250,000 units per year, Kia aims to make the Hwaseong EVO Plant (East and West) a key hub for the global growth of its PBV business.
Executive Statement
According to Min-seok Kim, Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, he was delighted to take part in the completion ceremony for Kia's Hwaseong EVO Plant East and the groundbreaking ceremony for EVO Plant West. They will usher in a new era of innovation in future mobility together with the automotive electric industry, embracing new challenges including electrification, autonomous driving, and AI.
According to Ho Sung Song, Kia President and Global CEO, Kia is leveraging the vehicle electrification of light commercial vehicles as a key opportunity to position PBVs as a core future business. As they continue their journey toward sustainable future mobility, Kia remains committed to becoming a trusted partner in building a better future for Korea — and for humanity as a whole.
