Kia is to introduce a third production shift at its European production facility in Slovakia and recruit 1,000 new employees to keep up with rising demand.

Recruitment will be completed by December to allow three-shift operations at Zilina in the first quarter of 2012.

Paul Philpott, chief operating officer, Kia Motors Europe, said: “Strong demand for all our models and especially our new Sportage compact SUV, made here in Europe, means we need to significantly increase production at our Slovakia facility.”

Last year, Kia manufactured more than 729,000 vehicles outside Korea, with production in Europe, China and the USA accounting for 34.2% of the global total of 2.1 million units.

This year sales have increased by 18.7% in Europe, 24.4% in China and 36.9% in the USA.