Kia Sportage Hybrid Being Built at HMG Metaplant

Production of the Kia Sportage Turbo Hybrid has begun at the Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) Metaplant near Savannah, GA. The small SUV is so popular that it is also built at a dedicated Kia facility in West Point, GA. Think about what that says about the popularity of Kia in the U.S. People like Kia vehicles. 

Metaplant is Impressive

HMG is the parent company of several brands, including Hyundai, Genesis, and Kia. Hyundai Motor Group's gigantic 2,900-acre site is in Ellabell, GA, near Savannah. This is an impressive feat, considering the groundbreaking was just over three years ago, and now it’s cranking out new cars.  

Today, the Metaplant is up and running, and it is producing electric cars like the Hyundai Ioniq 9, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, and now the Kia Sportage Turbo Hybrid. The Metaplant is a modern state-of-the-art facility that includes flexible assembly lines that lack the typical fixed tracks, in addition to the more familiar fixed, moving assembly line. The plant is also a high robot density environment with over 850 robots and approximately 300 autonomous guided vehicles. These self-guided vehicles run supplies back and forth and carry vehicle bodies through the assembly process. They run completely without a human driver. 

The Future of Factories

The plant also integrates Boston Dynamics, which is a subsidiary of Hyundai. Robots from the Boston Dynamics group include the quadruped robot “Spot,” which looks like some kind of futuristic canine.  They're used for safety inspections and quality control, including paint inspection that looks for flaws too minor for the human eye to see. There's also a humanoid robot pilot program, this is Boston Dynamics robot named “Atlas.” Check out this video of the robot dogs in action. 

The Metaplant is the first in the industry to use a fleet of 21 heavy-duty hydrogen fuel-cell electric trucks for transporting parts from suppliers.

Recently, there was an event to kick off the start of production of the new Kia Sportage Turbo Hybrid. Political and corporate officials were in Georgia for the kick-off event, including Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Kia North America CEO Sean Yoon (shown above).

The Sportage Turbo Hybrid is the first Kia to be produced at Hyundai Motor Group's Metaplant. Up until now, the vehicles produced at the meta plant have all been electric. Kia officials say the plant was always intended to incorporate both electric and electrified vehicles. Currently, the plant is running at about 50 percent capacity.

The fact that the Metaplant is at 50 percent capacity and is now adding a gas/electric hybrid is clearly reflecting consumers’ desire for more hybrids versus all-electric vehicles. Kia hybrid sales are up 179 percent. Still, the company's hybrid and electrified models delivered the highest monthly and best-ever May year-to-date sales totals in company history.

Sportage Sale Success

The 2026 Kia Sportage Turbo hybrid has a 1.6-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine combined with an electric motor. 1.6L turbocharged engine paired with an electric motor, producing a combined 232 horsepower and 271 lb-ft of torque. That's a pretty impressive torque number for a compact SUV and results in the Sportage hybrid accelerating with noticeable authority. One interesting thing about the Sportage hybrid is that it uses a conventional transmission. Many hybrids use a CVT, but on the Sportage, it's a 6-speed automatic, which results in a slightly more “normal” driving feel.

The 2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid is on sale now - with pricing for the 1.6L turbo-hybrid models starting at an MSRP of about $32,000 and running close to $50,000 for the top X-Line SX Prestige trim. The hybrid is available in EX and X-Line SX Prestige trims. Fuel economy is roughly 32–35 MPG.

Kia has sold nearly 80,000 Sportage models so far this year as of May 2026. They're built in the U.S. 

-Brian Moody