ELLABELL, GA — With Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp behind the wheel, Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America and Kia America rolled out their new hybrid vehicle on Tuesday.
The Kia Sportage Turbo-Hybrid is the first Kia and first hybrid electric vehicle to be produced at the Ellabell Metaplant. It’s the third vehicle manufactured at the site, since it began production in 2022, joining HMGMA’s electric Hyundai IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 9. While the Sportage Hybrid has been in production in Korea, this is the first time it’s being manufactured in the U.S.
Kemp, Kia North America and America President and CEO Seungkyu (Sean) Yoon, and Kia Georgia President and CEO Stuart Countess, joined about 200 HMGMA employees, known as Meta Pros, to celebrate the vehicle reveal. The hybrid Kia Sportage made its debut, traveling to the stage on an Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR), a machine used throughout HMGMA’s production processes. Two yellow “robot dogs” wiggled in front of posed Kias, greeting guests as they walked to the event…