Do you know where the world's largest car factory is? In this article, I will take stock of the world's top ten automobile factories. The result will subvert your imagination.
No. 10: Ford Motor's Kansas City plant, USA, with an annual production capacity of 500,365 units
It is the production site for the world's best-selling Pickup Ford F-150. For more than 40 years, it has been the best-selling pickup truck in the United States, and the production is also large. The factory alone covers an area of 5.13 million square meters, and about 7,000 workers are responsible for the production of complete vehicles. Starting with the production of military vehicles in 1951, the first civilian vehicles were produced in 1956 and continue to this day. In addition to the F-150, it also produces commercial vehicles such as the Ford Transit.
No. 9: Toyota Plant in Kentucky, USA, with an annual production capacity of 550,000 units
Toyota's Kentucky plant is Toyota's largest plant. Production of the Camry began in 1988 and continues to this day, while also producing and supplying RAV4 and Lexus ES for the U.S. market. The number of workers is about 10,000.
No. 8: Kia's Hwaseong Autoland plant in South Korea, with an annual production capacity of 563,000 units
The plant covers an area of about 3.3 million square meters, and the site itself is smaller than Ford's Kansas City plant, but the scale of production exceeds that. In addition to automobile assembly, there are also body casting, body stamping equipment, and test tracks, realizing one-stop production. In addition, since it is located on the west coast, it is easy to export the vehicles produced here to the global market. Take the test track, for example, which consists of a road of about 14 kilometers and can test various projects under 32 different road conditions and 12 different routes.
No. 7: Mazda's Hiroshima plant in Japan, with an annual production capacity of 569,000 units
It is the factory that produces almost all Mazda models. Mazda's flagship models, such as the CX-3, CX-5, CX-8, CX-9 and MX-5, are manufactured and exported worldwide. To introduce an environmentally friendly production process, a solar panel was added to the roof that generates 1.1 megawatts of electricity to power the plant. Mazda's new electric crossover, the MX-30 EV, is also produced at the plant.
No. 6: Kia's Autoland plant in Gwangju, South Korea: Annual production capacity of 620,000 units
Kia's Gwangju plant was renovated in 2011 and increased annual production to 620,000 units from 2013. It consists of three factories that produce popular models such as the KX3, Sportage and Bongo. All processes, from the engine block to the body assembly, are carried out at the Gwangju plant. The annual production of 620,000 units also means that a new car can be completed every 51 seconds.
No. 5: Nissan Smyrna plant in the United States, with an annual production capacity of 640,000 units
Nissan Smyrna's plant is one of the largest in the United States, producing 640,000 vehicles per year. On the 3.58 million square meters of space, about 7,000 workers are responsible for automobile production. The Datsun pickup has been produced since 1983 and is currently producing leaf, cima, Loulan, Pathfinder, X-Trail, Infiniti QX60.
4th place: Renault Russia Abtovaz Tobliati has an annual production capacity of 650,000 units.
Originally, during the Soviet era, the Lada brand was produced as a state-owned enterprise, but after privatization in 2007, it was acquired by The Renault Group. The Renault Group currently has operating rights. The Rada brand vehicles are continuously produced here and are the car brands with the largest market share in the Russian market.
No. 3: Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, with an annual production capacity of 815,000 units
As a Volkswagen-centric factory, it has witnessed the rise of Volkswagen. The big chimney is the hallmark of this factory. There are about 60,000 workers. It also operates a track of about 58 km and 6 trains to secure a smooth supply from nearby parts suppliers. The reason for such a large scale is that it produces volkswagen's most popular models, such as the Golf and Tiguan. The plant was built in 1938 and is characterized by rapid production capacity, producing its 1 millionth vehicle as early as 1955.
No. 2: Kia's Yancheng plant in China, with an annual production capacity of 890,000 units
This is the result of a tripartite joint venture between Kia, Dongfeng Motor and Yueda Group. Of course, now that Dongfeng has withdrawn, the factory covers an area of 3.3 million square meters and has an annual production capacity of 890,000 units. Completed in 2002, of course, the plant is not currently operating at full capacity, because Kia's current development in the Chinese market has encountered a bottleneck period.
No. 1: Hyundai's Ulsan plant in South Korea, with an annual production capacity of 1.53 million units
The world's largest single car plant is Hyundai Motor's Ulsan plant. Covering an area of 5 million square meters, it is composed of five separate factories equipped with engine, transmission and body assembly production facilities. There is also a road test site covering an area of 760,000 square meters. There are 19 driving test roads with a total length of 20 kilometers. In order to facilitate exports, there is a special export terminal, which can dock 3 50,000-ton ships at the same time, export more than 1 million cars per year, and export to more than 200 countries. There are about 32,000 workers, and a total of 16 models are currently produced, and one model is produced every 10 seconds.