Kia Slovakia sees output reaching pre-crisis levels

ZILINA, Slovakia, June 25 (Reuters) - South Korea's No. 2 carmaker, Kia Motors (000270.KS), expects the launch of a new sport utility vehicle (SUV) to help boost output at its Slovak factory to pre-crisis levels, a top executive said.

Kia, which has an assembly plant in the northern Slovak town of Zilina with an annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles, is one of the euro zone country's key exporters.

"We plan to produce more than 35,000 units of this SUV model this year," Kia Motors Slovakia Chief Executive In-Kyu Bae told reporters on Friday. The CEO saw 2010 production exceeding 200,000 units, up from 150,020 vehicles last year. The plant makes the Kia Cee'd, new generation SUV Kia Sportage and Hyundai ix35 models.

Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) and sister company Kia are using factories in Slovakia and the neighbouring Czech Republic as a base for sales in Europe.

Production in Slovakia totalled 201,000 units in 2008, before the global economic crisis hit new car demand.

Slovakia's car industry, including assembly plants of Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) and PSA Peugeot Citroen (PEUP.PA), is a key driver of the heavily export-reliant Slovak economy, which contracted 4.7 percent in 2009 and is expected to grow about 3 percent this year. (Reporting by Martin Santa; Editing by Michael Shields))