SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Hyundai Motor has said it may manufacture small cars at a plant being built in the United States by its affiliate Kia Motors.
''We might have Hyundai products produced at the Georgia plant if the platform is common,'' Hyundai Vice Chairman Kim Dong-jin told reporters visiting from the United States earlier this month.
Kim's comments were contained in an e-mail from Hyundai on Thursday.
The Kia plant, in West Point, Ga., is set to open in late 2009 with annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles.
Earlier this month, Hyundai said it had considered making pickup trucks at the plant in Georgia but decided against the idea because of high oil prices and slack truck sales in the United States.
Kia, meanwhile, said that its next generation Sorento SUV will be the first model to go into production at the Georgia factory.
''Additional models to be produced at the Georgia plant following the Sorento have not been finalized,'' Kia spokesman Michael Choo said Thursday.
Hyundai has a factory in the neighboring state of Alabama.
Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. together form the world's sixth-largest automotive group.