Kia Motors Corporation has signed an investment agreement with the Mexico government to build a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Monterrey which is located the northeastern state of Nuevo León.

Construction on the Kia Motors Mexico plant is scheduled to commence in late September of 2014, and when completed in the first half of 2016 it will boast an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles, thereby boosting Kia’s total global manufacturing capacity to 3.37 million vehicles, including 1.69 million vehicles at domestic Korean plants and 1.68 million at overseas plants. Kia said it plans to produce a range of yet-to-be confirmed compact models at the new plant.

Representing an investment of approximately US$1 billion by Kia Motors, the new, highly automated manufacturing plant will be situated on a 500 hectare (53.8 million square foot) site that will also be home to numerous supplier companies’ facilities, according to the company.