The Korea Herald reported Friday that Kia plans a 3 trillion won ($2.21 billion) investment through 2029 in electric-vehicle production at AutoLand Gwangju, expanding the plant beyond combustion models.
The spending is part of Hyundai Motor Group’s five-year, 125.2 trillion won commitment to domestic operations, announced in November 2025. The report said the investment is intended to make the factory a base for software-defined vehicles and environmentally friendly mobility, with production moving past internal-combustion models.
Alongside the investment, Kia joined Chonnam National University, the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology and Jeonnam-Gwangju on Friday to sign a separate memorandum of understanding. The Korea Herald reported that the agreement sets out a regional mobility program.
The MOU calls for trials of Kia Purpose-Built Vehicles (PBVs), vehicles configured for different transport tasks. Planned services include demand-responsive transit and autonomous shuttles. The agreement also covers remote-driving systems for the Kia PV5 Van for passengers with mobility impairments, as well as vehicle layouts suited to freight or passenger transport, the report said.
The consortium plans to deploy 200 autonomous Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric vehicles on local roads. The vehicles are intended to support the trials and train artificial-intelligence systems for the PBVs, according to The Korea Herald.
Kia President and CEO Song Ho-sung said the partners aim to bring PBV applications closer to commercial use and raise the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City’s profile in South Korea’s future-mobility sector.
