Kia To Produce New Model in Russia

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Kia plans to produce a new model especially designed for the Russia market at Hyundai's plant near St. Petersburg. The B-segment vehicle will start production in the autumn of 2011, Vladimir Dukelsky, managing director of Kia Motors Russia, has announced.

According to Dukelsky, it will be a completely new model that will be "a key product for the Russia market."

There is a possibility that the new car might be built on the Hyundai Solaris platform and will be a replacement for the current Rio. The name of the new model as well its approximate price were not disclosed, although Russian analysts say it will be in the range of $13,000-$20,000. Total production volumes are estimated at 35,000 cars per year.

The new car will mainly compete with the Renault Logan and the new Hyundai Solaris in Russia. The Solaris starts production here at midmonth to early January, and will be the first model to come off the line at Hyundai's new Russia facility.

Currently, Kia is Russia's second-best selling foreign car brand after Chevrolet. The Kia Rio and Cee'd are both in the top 25 sellers in Russia — at 12th and 13th position respectively — with total sales of 24,800 and 22,000 cars respectively since the beginning of the year. The Kia Sportage crossover retains its leadership as the top-selling crossover in Russia.

Earlier this year, Kia also announced plans to start production of the new Cerato in 2011 at the Izh-Auto plant.

Inside Line says: Kia sees its opportunity to move up the popularity scale in Russia. — Evgeniy Vorotnikov, Correspondent