The third plant of three-way joint venture Dongfeng Yueda Kia Automobile Co had its inauguration ceremony last Friday in Jiangsu province's Yancheng city where Yueda is headquartered.

With a planned investment of $814 million, the new facility is scheduled to start production in 2014 and reach an annual capacity of 300,000 units in 2015.

The most technologically advanced of South Korean automaker Kia's overseas plants, it will produce the K3 and one or two SUV models, said Lin Zhongxian, deputy general manager of Dongfeng Yueda Kia.

Combined with existing facilities, the new plant will bring the joint venture's capacity in Yancheng to 730,000 units a year.