Hwashin, Seoyon E-Hwa sign 225 billion won investment pact near Kia India plant

Hwashin and Seoyon E-Hwa have signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the government of Andhra Pradesh, India, to build auto parts plants worth a combined 225 billion won (about $166 million). The move secures new production bases near Kia India's Penukonda plant and strengthens the parts supply chain.

According to the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB) on Oct. 24, the Indian units of Hwashin and Seoyon E-Hwa signed investment agreements with the state government at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) regional meeting on Oct. 23. The investments are worth 850 crore (about 140 billion won) and 514.17 crore (about 85 billion won), respectively. They plan to build facilities for four-wheeler chassis parts and automotive interior and exterior materials in Sri Sathya Sai district, Andhra Pradesh.

Sri Sathya Sai district is adjacent to Kia India's Penukonda plant, the company's production base in the country. Seoyon E-Hwa estimates the new plant will create 918 local jobs. In addition, Indian auto parts maker Iwamet has agreed to invest 250 crore (about 41 billion won) in the nearby Kurnool region, bringing total investment in the area's auto parts sector to 1,614.17 crore (about 260 billion won).

The Andhra Pradesh government has been steadily expanding the auto parts ecosystem around the Kia plant. Since 2017, Kia has invested $1.1 billion (about 1.5 trillion won) in Penukonda to build a production system with an annual capacity of 300,000 units. According to state government data, cumulative investment by Kia and its partners in the region has exceeded 22,000 crore (about 3.6 trillion won), creating 24,237 direct jobs. The latest investments by Hwashin and Seoyon E-Hwa are aimed at cutting logistics costs and improving parts supply efficiency in line with Kia's local production expansion.

Chiranjeev Choudhary, principal secretary of Andhra Pradesh's industries and commerce department, said, "Andhra Pradesh has immense potential in advanced manufacturing, food processing and renewable energy." Meanwhile, the CII Anantapur regional meeting saw a total of 23 investment agreements worth 5,217.39 crore (about 860 billion won) across sectors including aerospace, steel and textiles. The deals mark a major investment attraction push by Andhra Pradesh ahead of the 31st CII Partnership Summit to be held in Visakhapatnam in November 2026.

(Dollar figures are approximate, converted automatically at 1,000 won = $0.738, the rate on Nov. 9, 2026.)

※ This article is an AI translation of the Korean original published by Korea Credit News; it was checked by automated quality guards and published by the English edition desk.