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Kia Motors to Build U.S. Factory

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea`s second-largest automaker, said on Monday it would invest $1.2 billion building its first U.S. factory in the southern state of Georgia. The facility is expected to produce 300,000 vehicles a year and employ 2,500 workers.

Kia is also building a second plant in China and expects its first European factory to start up in Slovakia at the end of the year. Kia`s plant in Georgia will be located in West Point, on the western edge of the state. The company is the maker of the Optima midsize sedan, the small-size Picanto and the Sorento SUV.

Kia`s cars are successful sellers in the U.S., and the confidence of Kia Motors in opening up a factory in America is a sign that Kia expects the relationship between car buyers, the U.S. economy, and Kia to continue on an upward swing.