Irvine-based Kia Motors America is planning to build its first auto factory in the U.S.
Mississippi is the company’s top choice, but other states, such as Kentucky, also are being considered, Michael Choo, Kia’s international communications manager told the Associated Press.
The company is part of South Korea’s Kia Motors Corp. South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and other Hyundai units own a majority of Kia, which is run independently.
Kia said it plans to use information Hyundai collected during its search for a plant site. In May, Hyundai opened a $1.1 billion plant in Montgomery, Ala.
Kia said Mississippi was being looked at seriously because of its closeness to the Hyundai site.
The automaker didn’t say when it expects to select a site or get the plant running. It makes 1.15 million vehicles a year, selling them in more than 160 countries.
Kia’s U.S. unit posted a 10.2% increase in July auto sales to 26,052 autos, up from 23,637 a year earlier.
