Kia to Open Huge Auto Plant in Mexico Next Year

Kia Motors Corp. says it will open a $1 billion factory near Monterrey, Mexico, in the first half of 2015 with capacity to build 300,000 vehicles per year.

The plant in Pesqueria reportedly will make Rio minicars, Forte small sedans and/or Soul MPVs. Kia has not revealed which models will be produced.

Kia and parent Hyundai Motor Co. have been looking for ways to add capacity in North America. Each operates a factory in the U.S. that has been running above its normal capacity.

The new Kia facility indicates a change in philosophy for Hyundai-Kia Chairman Chung Mong-koo, who in 2012 issued an unofficial moratorium on expansion by both companies.