S. Korea's Kia breaks ground for new China plant

South Korea's second-largest automaker Kia Motors said it broke ground Friday for its third plant in China, the world's fastest-growing car market.

The company said the new plant in the northeastern city of Yancheng would produce 300,000 cars annually when completed in the first half of 2014. It would help Kia boost its annual production in China to 730,000 units.

Kia, an affiliate of South Korea's leading automaker Hyundai Motor, sold 432,518 vehicles in China last year and plans to sell 460,000 this year.

"This third plant in China will be an opportunity for us to make further progress on the quality front as well as increase overall customer satisfaction," Hyundai Motor chief Chung Mong-Koo said in a statement.

Hyundai and Kia together form the world's fifth-largest car-making group by sales. Kia operates 13 plants in eight countries including India and the United States.