Kang Gi-jung Visits Kia Autoland Gwangju, Encourages 500,000 Vehicles Produced for Three Consecutive Years

Achieving Production of 522,268 Vehicles in 2025
Listening to On-Site Opinions on the Transition to Future Mobility

Gwangju Mayor Kang Gi-jung visited Kia Autoland Gwangju, which achieved the production of 500,000 vehicles for three consecutive years, to encourage executives and employees and to listen to the voices from the field as the industry prepares for a transition to future vehicles.

On January 15, Gwangju City announced that the previous day, Mayor Kang and officials from the Gwangju Future Mobility Promotion Institute visited Kia Autoland Gwangju to share recent production achievements and to listen to the challenges faced by companies in building the future mobility industry ecosystem.

Gwangju Mayor Kang Gi-jung visited Kia Autoland Gwangju on the 14th to celebrate the achievement of producing 500,000 vehicles for three consecutive years and to listen to on-site opinions. Photo by Gwangju City

On that day, Mayor Kang held a meeting with executives and employees, including Plant Manager Moon Jae-woong, to discuss current issues in the automotive industry and the challenges involved in transitioning to future vehicles. He then visited the labor union office to encourage workers who contributed to achieving the production of 520,000 vehicles in 2025.

Mayor Kang stated, "Achieving the production of 500,000 vehicles for three consecutive years despite the global economic downturn and supply chain crises is an accomplishment made possible by the cooperation between labor and management," adding, "Kia Autoland Gwangju is a key pillar of the Gwangju regional economy and a core hub for the transition to the future mobility industry." He continued, "We will focus on building infrastructure and regulatory innovation so that Gwangju can grow beyond finished vehicle production and become a leading city in future mobility."

Kia Autoland Gwangju produced a total of 522,268 vehicles last year, including 173,662 for the domestic market and 348,606 for export. This is the second-highest performance on record since 2023. According to Gwangju City, this achievement was driven by continued demand for key models such as the Sportage (225,933 units) and Seltos (159,466 units), as well as the successful market entry of the dedicated electric vehicle EV5.

Annual production volumes were 541,100 units in 2023, 513,782 units in 2024, and 522,268 units in 2025, maintaining a record of producing over 500,000 vehicles for three consecutive years.

Based on these achievements, Gwangju City plans to support local parts suppliers in transitioning to the era of Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV) and to implement tailored support projects, such as strengthening cooperation between finished vehicle manufacturers and parts suppliers.