Kia's Factory Operating Rate at 74.5% Last Year... Impact of COVID-19

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Kia operated its factories at 74.5% capacity last year due to the impact of COVID-19.

Kia disclosed its 2020 business report on the 12th, stating that the domestic and overseas factory operation rate last year was 74.5%. The operation rate is calculated based on production performance relative to production capacity. The domestic factory operation rate was the highest at 85.3%, while the Slovakia factory operation rate was recorded at 81.3%.

On the other hand, the operation rate of the Georgia factory in the United States, which temporarily halted operations due to COVID-19, was 65.9%, and the operation rates of the Mexico and India factories were 51.7% and 54.0%, respectively.

Kia's research and development (R&D) investment last year amounted to 1.673 trillion KRW, with R&D expenses accounting for 2.8% of sales. Additionally, intellectual property rights were recorded as 10,251 patents and 5,103 designs. Through R&D last year, Kia developed systems such as a 3rd-row rear seat auxiliary air filter application system, sliding door safe exit assistance function, simultaneous power door opening and closing function, and 2nd-row relaxation seats.

The highest-paid person at Kia last year was former President Han-woo Park, who retired in March last year. Including a retirement allowance of 4.05 billion KRW, he received a total of 4.23 billion KRW. Karim Habib, Executive Vice President in charge of Kia Design, and President Ho-sung Song received 1.385 billion KRW and 1.139 billion KRW, respectively.

However, Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, did not receive any compensation from Kia.

Last year, Kia had 35,424 employees including temporary workers, with an average length of service of 22.1 years, and the average salary per person was 91 million KRW, an increase of 5 million KRW compared to the previous year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.