IzhAvto Resumes Kia Spectra Assembly

Russian car maker IzhAvto has resumed assembly of Kia Spectra vehicles at its Izhevsk facility. Over 20% of the components of the Russian-built Spectra are made by local suppliers, Autostat reports. A total of 1,700 units will be produced by the end of August/beginning of September, after which the company will cease assembly of Kia vehicles and shift to production of Renault and Nissan-branded models.

IzhAvto resumed assembly of the Kia Sorento SUV in May. Both the Spectra and Sorento are being sold through Kia Motors’ official Russian distribution network.

Initially, Kia assembly in Izhevsk was started in August 2005, and was halted in March 2009. In the last six years the company produced over 120 thousand Kia vehicles, most of which was Kia Spectra sedans (105 thousand units).