A new report published by a leading independent European economic consultancy, London Economics, has confirmed the substantial contribution made by Kia Motors Europe to the European economy.

The report, ‘The Economic and Societal Benefits Deriving from the Presence of Kia in Europe’, has found that over 164,000 people owe their jobs to the presence of the popular brand in various locations across the continent.

Including customs duties, sales and income taxes, Kia contributed almost €865 million in taxes to European governments during 2012, further supporting the region’s economies. This figure increased by almost 16 per cent, up from €746 million in taxes in 2011.

As production has expanded at Kia’s manufacturing facility in Žilina, Slovakia (output up by 15 per cent during 2012), Kia’s European manufacturing operation purchased supplies worth €3.7 billion, €2.6 billion of which (69 per cent) are sourced from within Europe.

The report highlighted Kia’s entire European value chain, from research and development through to the distribution of new cars across the continent. The sales distribution network, covering all EU member state and EFTA countries, adds an additional €1.6 billion to European GDP, while research and development, manufacturing and supplies bring Kia’s total gross value added to €2.6 billion.

Michael Cole, chief operating officer of Kia Motors Europe, commented: “Our European output and market share continues to grow year-on-year as a result of the brand’s multi-billion investment in the region. Underpinning Kia’s growth is the expansion and development of our European dealer network.

“We have over 2,000 dealerships across 30 markets, selling our latest and greatest products and providing top quality aftersales service to our expanding customer base. We are pleased to see this report recognise the scale of our contribution to economic growth across the continent.”