900 Engines Were Stolen From An Indian Kia Factory

Thieves stole over 900 engines from a Kia factory in India in an elaborate “inside job” that spanned at least five years. The details of how the engines were moved and their final destinations remain unclear, despite ongoing investigations following a formal complaint from Kia Motors.

The engines were stolen from Kia’s factory near Penukonda in Andhra Pradesh. The thefts were discovered after the factory conducted an audit of its operations for 2024, during which it found a large number of engines missing.

Investigators are still trying to determine exactly how the thieves managed to steal 900 complete engines without being detected. Given the scale of the theft, it is no surprise that police suspect employees and others who had regular access to the factory’s warehouses.

“These thefts started in 2020. It has been a continuous process for almost five years. We will go deep into the investigation,” a police spokesperson told PTI. “These are not people from the outside; this was done from the inside. Even a small car part cannot leave the premises without the knowledge of the management. We are investigating who was involved. We have conducted a preliminary investigation, found certain loopholes, and are now targeting former employees, although we believe some current employees could also be involved,” the spokesperson said.

Initially, police suspected that the engines were diverted in transit from other manufacturing facilities, but the investigation has since shifted to the factory itself, where Kia builds the Sonet, Syros, Seltos, and Carens models for the Indian market. The factory produces between 300,000 and 400,000 vehicles a year, which explains how a theft of this magnitude went unnoticed for years.

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