Every Kia Model Made In The USA
Kia is known for building reliable engines and innovating with low-cost EVs, but it's also known for some unique manufacturing habits. While Kia is a popular auto manufacturer in the United States, the company is based in South Korea and has other plants across the globe.
Given the location and global market reach, it's not surprising that there are different models available in different countries and continents. Not only that, but different models are made in various places around the globe. A Kia can come from the U.S., South Korea, Mexico, Slovakia, or China and get shipped all around the world.
Some cars manufactured for Europe aren't available in the U.S. and some regions — like Latin America — get their own variations. Much of the variation can likely be attributed to where a car is made. After all, a locally-made South Korean car has different requirements than a U.S.-built model. Everything from emissions standards to design can be different, and the model names sometimes change, too.
It's not surprising, then, to find out that there are specific models of Kias manufactured in the U.S. Here is a look at all the models that come from Kia's only domestic plant in West Point, Georgia, plus what you should know to determine where your Kia came from.
Kia Sportage [Made in the U.S.]
The Kia Georgia plant runs 24 hours a day with three separate shifts, and produces hundreds of thousands of cars each year that are then sold in the U.S. According to Kia, 90% of its Georgia plant vehicles go to dealerships across America. However, of all the vehicles Kia manufactures, only four models are manufactured at the Georgia plant, and one of them is the Sportage. The Sportage is, by numbers, the most-produced car in the U.S. plant.
Unsurprisingly, one of Kia's U.S.-made cars is its best-selling — the company sold 140,780 Sportages in the U.S. in 2023, more than any of its other vehicles. According to Kia's sales results from 2023, 89,003 Sportages were sold from the U.S. plant; Slovakia's plant also produced 211,135 Sportages. Based on the numbers, it's evident that most of the cars from Slovakia were not shipped over to the U.S.
While the car is clearly beloved, 2023 brought changes to the Sportage's styling and features, but not enough to turn drivers off. The 2024 Sportage has a ton of technology onboard, comes in a range of colors, and has a variety of package options. The entry-level 2024 Sportage, the LX, starts at $27,190.
Kia Telluride [Made in the U.S.]
Kia's Telluride is not only manufactured in the United States — it was also designed for American drivers. The 2023 Telluride was rugged yet luxurious, so it's not surprising that 110,765 Tellurides were sold in the U.S. in 2023 — an 89% increase since its 2019 debut.
Kia's Telluride is only manufactured in Georgia, U.S., and not available overseas. If you own a Telluride, it seems there's no chance it was manufactured anywhere else. However, that doesn't mean variations of the SUV don't exist elsewhere. Korea's version of the Telluride, the Palisade, has a lot in common with the U.S. version.
Drivers in South Korea seem to prefer the Telluride though, with Kia referencing high consumer demand but a reluctance from the manufacturer to start bringing Tellurides to South Korea. Either Tellurides would have to be shipped in from the U.S. facility, or the company would have to create an assembly line in South Korea to produce them.
For now, the finance and manufacturing departments disagree with the sales department's urging to bring Tellurides overseas. Thus, there are no plans for Kia to make the Telluride available anywhere else.
The 2024 Telluride starts at $36,190 for the base model (LX).
Kia Sorento [Made in the U.S.]
The Sorento is one of the most reliable Kia models ever built, which is notable especially because it's a more affordable alternative to many similarly-sized SUVs. Without regard to distinction in manufacturing locations, it seems the Sorento comes in at the top of most rankings. However, there are two places where Sorentos are manufactured: Kia Georgia and at domestic plants in South Korea.
Some drivers suggest that their Kias are either better or worse performing based on where they were made, but that is up for debate. Any vehicle can have performance problems, and it's hard to specify what the cause is, unless the manufacturer itself issues a recall for models based on their production location. According to Kia's 2023 sales data, the U.S. plant was responsible for producing 75,106 Sorentos that year, and it's not clear how many Sorentos were produced in other plants. The South Korea plant has a much larger capacity (1,591,000 vehicles per year), but it also manufactures K3, K5, and Sportage models.
The Sorento isn't as popular as the Sportage or Telluride, but 88,625 Sorentos were sold in the U.S. 2023, which is nothing to scoff at. Many of the SUV's features feel extravagant, and with a third row, the Sorento has plenty to offer. From ample legroom to the stylish design, there's not much to complain about with the Sorento.
A 2024 Sorento will run you about $31,990 MSRP for the entry-level LX model.
Kia K5 [Made in the U.S.]
Like other Kias, the K5 (formerly the Optima) is manufactured around the world. Specifically, the South Korea domestic plants, DYK Automobile Manufacturing Plant in China, and Kia Georgia all manufacture K5s. However, the majority of K5s were produced in the U.S. in 2023, according to Kia's sales data.
In 2023, Kia sold 69,253 K5s from its U.S. plant, while 2,410 came from the China plant. No K5s were listed for the South Korea plant, as the sales data only listed non-Korea plant sales (and no chart seemed to be available for domestic sales within South Korea).
Numbers-wise, it seems that the K5s in the U.S. plant all wound up at dealerships in the country; there were 64,772 Kia K5s sold in 2023 in the U.S. The K5 is the successor of Kia's equally successful Optima, which first debuted in 2011. In 2020, Kia announced it was releasing the K5 starting in 2021. And it wasn't just a renaming — the Kia K5 brought more modern styling and a turbocharged engine.
A 2025 Kia K5 starts at $26,990 MSRP for the base LXS FWD.
Kia EV9 [Made in the U.S.]
While only a few Kias are manufactured in the U.S. right now, it won't stay that way forever. The Kia Georgia plant will soon manufacture the EV9, too. And according to Kia's sales data, some have already been built. SlashGear drove the three-row EV9 in early 2024, and the SUV felt luxurious.
Despite looking a bit boxy, the EV9 had decent handling, though it was a bit loud inside without any engine noise to cover up the ruckus from the road. There are still some improvements to be made, but the EV9 only began production in late 2023 (with five models produced in November).
Kia is also apparently working on an electric version of its upcoming 2025 Tasman pickup truck, but it's unclear if that will be manufactured in Georgia with the EV9. The regular truck won't be available in the United States when it launches, which could mean the same dilemma with producing a South Korean version of the Telluride (facility capacity and cost) exists in this case. Kia spent $200 million expanding its Georgia facility to produce EV9s, so accommodating production of an electric truck seems like it would be exorbitantly expensive.
Meanwhile, the EV9 had about 7,000 models already sold in the U.S. as of May 2024; the Kia EV9 starts at $54,900 at the Light RWD level.
Where else are Kias made?
Because Kia is based in South Korea, it makes sense that many Kias are manufactured there. Kia currently has manufacturing plants in Mexico, Slovakia, China, and the United States. In most cases, the company sells its cars in the regions in which they were produced (a generalization based on Kia's available global sales results). In the aforementioned press releases, Kia's spokespeople have discussed limitations to producing certain vehicles in specific locations, despite local demand.
Overall, most Kias are manufactured in Korea, with the fewest coming out of Slovakia. Each plant also specializes in different models, with additional costs to expand any plant to manufacture new models in varying designs. In the U.S., light truck imports are subject to a 25% tariff, which means it would make even more sense for Kia to produce its electric and other trucks domestically if the manufacturer planned to sell them in the States.
Generally, most Kia drivers in the U.S. are probably driving a Georgia-manufactured Kia, but that may not always be the case. Like any other global company, Kia deals with international sales, as evidenced by its various publicly available sales reports.
How to tell where your Kia is made
If you own a Kia Telluride, there's no chance it was made in another country, but if you drive a K5, Sorento, or Sportage, it technically could have been made overseas. Using the Sportage data from 2023, the number of vehicles sold in the U.S. was higher than the number of Sportages produced at the Georgia plant. Unless there were more vehicles produced than sold the prior year, it can be inferred that some non-U.S. models were sold on American soil.
If you're unsure where your Kia vehicle is made (and it's one of the four that could be manufactured in the United States), it's easy to find out how. You car's vehicle identification number (VIN) is a 17-character code that gives a ton of information. It will tell where your vehicle was manufactured, and even which manufacturing plant.
In any VIN, the first character is always a letter and tells you the country of origin. If your vehicle is from South Korea, the VIN will start with a K. If it's made in the U.S., the first character will be a number 1, 4, or 5.
Consumers can use the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's) VIN Decoder tool to find specific information about their vehicle.