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By Iris Hersey

With the help of Gov. Brian Kemp Tuesday, Kia Georgia officially unveiled the newest vehicle its producing — the Sportage.

The newest vehicle gives Kia Georgia four on its production line, adding the Sportage to the Telluride, Sorento and the K5.

“It is another great vehicle KIA is going to produce,” Kemp said.  “We’re glad to have it in Georgia.”

Representative Drew Ferguson said he found the event to be a monumental celebration and he continues to see growth from KIA in West Point. He said the occasion speaks to the workforce and leadership in the communities surrounding KIA.

“It’s a monumental celebration here in West Georgia. What we have seen from KIA since its inception has been continual growth, improvement [and] innovation,” Ferguson said. “To have this new Sportage built here in West Point is a phenomenal achievement. It says something pretty remarkable about the workforce here, about the community leadership and about the leadership at KIA.”

Rick Douglas, who works in public relations for KIA, said the event was unique because the car was built from scratch.

“It’s not often that we get to start a new vehicle from scratch and this is a new model to our facility. It’s a new model that we will be building for the North American market,” Douglas said.

“It’s a good addition, it gives us more impact on the US market. It gives us more flexibility in our own production model [and] the way we operate day to day business.”

The car is currently in high demand and can be viewed at via www.kiamedia.com.