Kia to establish Thai sales subsidiary

SEOUL, Kia Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, plans to launch a sales subsidiary in Thailand but has put on hold a plan to establish an assembly plant in the country, according to company officials and sources Tuesday. Kia, part of Hyundai Motor Group, plans to officially launch the Thai subsidiary, which will oversee local sales, marketing and after-sales customer service, on Jan. 31. The automaker, however, reportedly shelved its plan to establish a production plant in the country after it failed to reach an agreement with the Thailand Board of Investment regarding incentives from the local government. Kia had initially pushed for a plan to establish an assembly plant with an annual capacity of 250,000 units in Thailand's eastern province of Rayong. A Kia representative said the company will revisit the plan "if the investment environment changes." The Thai government has declared a goal to replace 30 percent of domestically produced vehicles with electric cars by 2030. It has also introdu ced an electric car purchase subsidy scheme for companies with local production plants. Source: Yonhap News Agency