SEOUL - Kia will introduce a third shift at its Zilina, Slovakia, plant in the first quarter of next year and hire 1,000 new employees to expand output.

The move comes as Kia and affiliate Hyundai seek to aggressively boost sales in Europe. Kia plans to launch a successor to its Cee'd model, its top-selling vehicle in Europe, next year, according to Automotive News Europe.

Kia builds the Cee'd, Sportage, Venga models in Zilina.

"The creation of the third shift at Zilina is the latest step in Kia's long-term process of building cars locally to best meet local consumers' needs and tastes," said Paul Philpott, Kia Europe's chief operating officer, in a statement.

He added: "Strong demand for all our models and especially our new Sportage compact SUV means we need to significantly increase production at our Slovakia facility."

Kia said the 1 billion euro investment is also expected that several thousand new jobs at component suppliers in Slovakia.

Kia's sales increased 4.2 percent to nearly 180,000 in EU and EFTA countries in the first eight months, giving the brand a 2 percent market share, according to industry association ACEA.