Kia has officially opened its new Hwaseong EVO Plant East, a purpose-built facility dedicated to the brand’s future “Platform Beyond Vehicle” (PBV) models, and broken ground on production of its sister site EVO Plant West.
Located within Kia’s enormous AutoLand Hwaseong complex in Gyeonggi Province it is the home of Kia LCV production and will build the Kia PV5 Cargo and Kia PV5 Passenger, alongside the new Kia Tasman pick-up.
When EVO Plant West opens in 2027, it will build larger PBV models including the forthcoming Kia PV7 and Kia PV9.
Van Reviewer visited the Hwaseong site during construction, and the new facility stood out even then as an ultra-modern and entirely new production site within Kia’s sprawling heartland of vehicle production in South Korea. We also got a quick drive in the prototype PV5, ahead of its launch.
The two new EVO plants form the cornerstone of Hyundai Motor Group’s first PBV production hub.
Together, they will eventually provide an annual capacity of 250,000 vehicles, making the site a central player in Kia’s push towards its global PBV business. Kia expects to produce 100,000 PV5 units annually at EVO Plant East, and 150,000 PV7 and other PBV units at EVO Plant West.
Kia has invested around KRW 4 trillion (£2bn) in the 297,000 square-metre site, which is designed around automation, sustainability, and flexible manufacturing.
Ho Sung Song, Kia’s president and global CEO, said: “Kia is leveraging the electrification of light commercial vehicles as a key opportunity to position PBVs as a core future business. As we continue our journey toward sustainable future mobility, Kia remains committed to becoming a trusted partner in building a better future for Korea and for humanity as a whole.”
The name “EVO Plant” combines “Evolution” and “Plant”, reflecting Kia’s ambition to redefine how vehicles are made. The factory integrates advanced manufacturing technology, including automated guided vehicles (AGVs), real-time quality control, and the company’s E-FOREST smart factory systems.
Even the paint shop has been re-engineered with dry booths that reduce environmental impact, while the assembly line blends traditional conveyor systems with cell-based production methods to allow different vehicle types to be built simultaneously.
The focus on people is just as strong as the focus on robots. Assembly areas have been designed with low-noise equipment, specification monitors to prevent errors, and automation of heavy or repetitive processes to improve working conditions.
Alongside the EVO plants, Kia is opening a PBV Conversion Centre, developed with strategic partners to build specialised variants.
The centre will build on chassis versions of the PV5, producing open-bed trucks, box vans, and camping models, with future plans to add versions of the PV7.
