South Korean auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co. said today it will invest US$78.1 million in a plant in the United States to supply parts for vehicles to be made by Kia Motors Corp.

The plant will supply parts modules to a Kia factory under construction in Georgia, Hyundai Mobis said.”Hyundai Mobis will supply 300,000 units a year of front-end, chassis and cockpit modules to Kia’s automobile plant,” the company said in a regulatory filing.

Kia Motors, which like Mobis is an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co., is building a US$1 billion plant in West Point, Georgia. The factory will have production capacity of 300,000 vehicles a year. Kia has said it will begin production in late 2009.

Hyundai Mobis already has a plant in nearby Montgomery, Alabama, which supplies auto parts to a Hyundai Motor factory there. [Source: LSJ.com]