The 1 millionth vehicle rolled off the assembly line at Kia’s Zilina plant in Slovakia just a little over five years since the factory opened, marking a significant landmark for the South Korean automaker.
The milestone model was a white, diesel-engined Cee’d SW that was handed over to a Slovakian children’s charity called the Red Nose Clowndoctors (no connection with Adult Swim’s Children’s Hospital…).
“Kia Motors Slovakia has achieved an important milestone in its history with the production of the millionth car. We decided to donate it to an organisation which will bring pleasure to children during their stay in hospitals,” said Eek-Hee Lee, President and CEO of Kia Motors Slovakia.
In addition, Kia said that the Cee’d SW is also the 600,000th version of the Zilina factory’s first car. Today, the plant also produces the Kia Sportage SUV and the Venga mini MPV.
Last year, the Zilina factory produced 252,000 cars and 359,000 engines, recording a 10 percent and 12 percent increase respectively over 2010.
The soon-to-be replaced Cee’d topped the list with 103,000 units in 2011, representing 41% of the overall production. It was followed closely by the Sportage with 101,000 units or 40% of total production, the Hyundai ix35 (which was manufactured up to June 2011) with 36,000 units and the Venga with 11,000 units.
