According to Automotive News, Tom Loveless, Kia’s US sales chief, said Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia is recruiting workers to staff a third shift at the plant. He also stated that no date has been fixed for the start of production.
Last year, the company managed to increase its share of the US market from 2.9 percent to 3.1 percent. This is mostly due to the new Sorento crossover, demand for which quadrupled to nearly 109,000 in 2010. Kia believes that stronger Sorento sales are inevitable going forward, given the fact that the auto market is recovering. Add the fact that dealers have reportedly been stating a shortage of Sorentos for months now, and increasing production becomes a given.
They have also been running short of other vehicles, such as the Sportage crossover and the redesigned Optima midsize sedan. Mark Scarpelli, owner of Raymond Kia dealership in Antioch, Illinois, said Loveless told dealers attending a meeting that the production increase would depend on market demand.
“Dealers are clamoring for the product, so within the next couple of months, they anticipate having that ramped up and have more production for that vehicle,” Scarpelli said.
For the past 12 months, the Sorento has been the brand's sales leader. Georgia production is shared with partner company Hyundai’s Santa Fe. Right now, the facility has an annual capacity of 300,000 units, so perhaps this is the beginning of a another big year for the CUV.
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