The first ever all-American Kia SUV has begun rolling off assembly lines in West Point, Georgia earlier this month, but the car will not be sold exclusively on the American market, the carmaker revealed this week.
The first batch of SUVs was loaded onto a vessel at the Port of Brunswick on Tuesday, awaiting shipment to the Arabian Peninsula. As per Kia’s plans, the number of Telluride SUVs to be exported to other markets each year is limited to around 3,000 units.
“For 10 years, we have been proud to support the thousands of jobs Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia provides in West Point, through efficient, reliable port services via Savannah,” said in a statement Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch.
“Today marks an important development, as KMMG branches out from the domestic market in a major way to export vehicles made in America.”
The Telluride is the largest Kia model ever made and can seat a total of eight people. The SUV was designed at the Kia Design Center in Irvine California, and its name takes after a town in San Miguel County, Colorado.
The car is powered by a 3.8-liter GDI V6 engine mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission and is capable of generating 291 horsepower and 262 lb.-ft. of torque.
The Telluride uses four-wheel independent suspension - self-leveling at the rear - and has a towing capacity of up to 5,000 pounds.
Although it is not a high-end luxury SUV, the Telluride makes use of all the technologies available to make it look like it was. A large 10.25-inch color touchscreen sits in the center of the dashboard, a head-up display is also available, and a 630-watt, 10-speaker Harman Kardon audio system is there to accompany the travelers.
The starting price for the Kia Telluride SUV on the American market has been set at $31,690.
The first batch of SUVs was loaded onto a vessel at the Port of Brunswick on Tuesday, awaiting shipment to the Arabian Peninsula. As per Kia’s plans, the number of Telluride SUVs to be exported to other markets each year is limited to around 3,000 units.
“For 10 years, we have been proud to support the thousands of jobs Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia provides in West Point, through efficient, reliable port services via Savannah,” said in a statement Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch.
“Today marks an important development, as KMMG branches out from the domestic market in a major way to export vehicles made in America.”
The Telluride is the largest Kia model ever made and can seat a total of eight people. The SUV was designed at the Kia Design Center in Irvine California, and its name takes after a town in San Miguel County, Colorado.
The car is powered by a 3.8-liter GDI V6 engine mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission and is capable of generating 291 horsepower and 262 lb.-ft. of torque.
The Telluride uses four-wheel independent suspension - self-leveling at the rear - and has a towing capacity of up to 5,000 pounds.
Although it is not a high-end luxury SUV, the Telluride makes use of all the technologies available to make it look like it was. A large 10.25-inch color touchscreen sits in the center of the dashboard, a head-up display is also available, and a 630-watt, 10-speaker Harman Kardon audio system is there to accompany the travelers.
The starting price for the Kia Telluride SUV on the American market has been set at $31,690.