The third assembly plant built by Kia Motors' Chinese joint venture launched production recently in the east China city of Yancheng. The new facility can build 300,000 vehicles a year after reaching full capacity.

With three plants, all in Yancheng, the joint venture, dubbed Dongfeng Yueda Kia Automobile Co., said it can produce up to 800,000 vehicles a year.

Dongfeng Yueda Kia is a three-way partnership of Kia Motors with two Chinese companies, Dongfeng Motor Corp. and Jiangsu Yueda Investment Co. The joint venture was established in 2002 in Yancheng.

This year, Kia hopes to sell 650,000 vehicles, up 19 percent from last year. In 2013, the joint venture's sales rose 14 percent year-on-year to 547,000 units.

Source: China Automotive Information Net