Kia Sees Need for a Factory in India

Kia Motors Corp. has almost no presence in India, thanks to high import taxes and the lack of local production capacity.

But CEO Park Han-woo tells South Korea's Dong-A Ilbo newspaper the company must eventually open a factory there, declaring that "India is where Kia will ultimately make a leap forward."

Park suggests the company will need such a facility in part to offset "stagnating" markets in China and Russia. But he offered no timetable for the project. A company spokesman says Kia has no current plan to build a new factory in India.

Kia's parent, Hyundai Motor Co., operates two assembly plants in the there, which it is second in sales only to Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. IHS Automotive predicts India will become the world's third-largest national market in 2016.