The Kaliningrad Avtotor plant has started shipping partially finished Kia Seltos crossovers to dealers, signaling a shift in how unfinished vehicles move from factory lines to market shelves. This development emerged in reports from the Telegram channel Unlimited, supplementing ongoing plant coverage. The move marks a change from a prior pause where some units stayed in mid assembly due to missing parts rather than logistics alone. Regional dealers are now receiving these semi-complete models and moving them from stock to showroom floors, broadening the model’s visibility in a market segment closely watched by industry observers.
A train loaded with Kia Seltos crossovers, along with Kaiyi X3 and X3 Pro models also produced at Avtotor, was spotted in the Moscow region. The consist included about 25 wagons, underscoring a deliberate push to relocate inventory to central hubs where final configuration and delivery arrangements could be completed in collaboration with local partners. The sight of the train emphasizes additional throughput from Avtotor and aligns with a broader plan to streamline the distribution of multiple models manufactured at the plant and to respond to regional demand with transparent operational steps.
During the summer of 2023, observers noted hundreds of semi-assembled Kia vehicles at the Avtotor site. Those cars had been built before February 24, 2024, but could not be finalized due to shortages of critical components such as media system screens, instrument clusters, and interior trim parts. The situation illustrates how global supply constraints ripple through manufacturing lines, leaving batches in mid-assembly until essential parts arrive. Industry watchers say the plant has been steadily advancing to complete these units, restoring full production flow and accelerating anticipated delivery timelines for dealers and customers alike.
In related automotive industry developments, Volkswagen has reportedly equipped Golf and Tiguan models with AI-driven features, highlighting ongoing efforts to integrate advanced digital assistants into mainstream vehicles. This context reinforces the wider trend toward more connected and automated experiences across major brands, potentially shaping expectations for cross-brand technologies and in-vehicle infotainment as production and supply chains normalize across North American markets.