(October 18, 2010) WEST POINT, Ga. — Kia has been perhaps more of a boon for this aera southwest of Atlanta than first thought just a few years ago.

Kia this month launched a second shift of production at the new West Point facility hiring more than 600 new team members to prepare for the addition of the second production shift bringing the total number of jobs created at the plant to more than 2,000.

Kia added the second shift in response to the successful sales of the 2011 Kia Sorento, which has been Kia's best-selling model in the U.S. every month since it debuted in January. The second shift will help meet the continuing demand for the Kia Sorento while adding capacity to build the Hyundai Santa Fe. Santa Fe production began Sept. 28.

"KMMG has produced 100,000 Sorentos to date and the quality, craftsmanship and attention to detail that goes into building the Sorento from the entire KMMG team has helped make it the best-selling Kia vehicle in the United States," said Byung Mo Ahn, group president and CEO of Kia Motors America and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia. "With the addition of our second shift we are building on that foundation to increase KMMG's volume and increase our commitment to the U.S. and local economy.

In addition to the more than 2,000 jobs created at Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, suppliers have hired more than 5,200 people for jobs created to support production at the plant.

The Kia plant opened a year ago.