Kia has selected Mexico as the production site for its EV3 model, investing $649 million in the existing Pesquería plant in Nuevo León. This investment will enable the plant to handle dedicated EV3 assembly alongside existing models, with more than a third of the total spend earmarked for production tooling. The line is scheduled to start operating on August 4, 2026, with volume building as the year goes on for both domestic and export markets.
Kia has already opened EV3 preorders in Mexico, positioning the SUV as the first fully electric Kia to be both built and sold locally. The EV3 will launch with about 27 percent local content, with that share expected to rise as more regional suppliers are brought into the program. High-value parts such as battery packs will initially come from Asia, then gradually shift as Kia secures more components closer to Pesquería.
View Price on AmazonThe same investment envelope includes funding for public and semi-public charging around key Mexican corridors linked to Kia's dealer network, plus renewable energy and water recycling projects tied to the plant. Those pieces are aimed at lowering the EV3's manufacturing footprint and supporting early adopters locally. For US readers, the key detail is that Mexican-built EV3s are planned for export north of the border later in 2026.
If you're weighing an EV3 against other small electric crossovers, it's worth comparing how Kia positions it next to the delayed EV4 for the US. Kia's broader EV roadmap, including smaller models like the EV2, also hints at how much of the brand's future EV volume could come from lower-cost plants such as Pesquería.
Source: motor1.com
