Kia Motors develops regional auto hub

Tue, 21 Dec 2004 | Source: AP

KUALA LUMPUR: South Korean automaker Kia Motors plans to buy a stake of at least 15 percent in Malaysia auto assembler Naza Automotive Manufacturing in a bid to develop a regional auto hub in Malaysia, a news report said on Monday.

The plan probably will be finalized next year, Kia Motors Corp.'s Kuala Lumpur-based Asia-Pacific managing director, Young S. Koh, told the Business Times daily.

Naza Automotive Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd., a unit of privately owned conglomerate Naza Group, operates a 300 million ringgit (US$80 million) auto assembly plant in Malaysia's northern Kedah state.

"The factory will eventually be used as a regional hub for Kia," Koh was quoted as saying. Naza's Kedah plant may be used in the future to assemble Kia vehicles for export to regional markets, Koh said, according to the report. -- AP

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