If you look at our list of largest factories in the world, one thing is common — they consist of gigantic plants that produce products at a large scale. These plants are so big that they take up almost entire cities. Some plants are mini-cities with all the necessities like hospitals, road networks, restaurants, entertainment areas, and even cargo ship piers.
From Volkswagen Wolfsburg Plant to Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, we present the largest factories in the world sprawling on huge areas with massive productions and enormous workforces.
A Look into the Largest Factories in the World
As you can see from the infographic, we have computed the list of the largest factories in the world based on their floor area. To learn more about them, keep reading!
Please note that we have only included manufacturing plants (not warehouses ) in our list.
Volkswagen Wolfsburg Plant, Germany
This plant is gigantic, situated on 6,500,000 m² of land. Also known as the headquarters of the Volkswagen Group, the plant churns iconic Volkswagen models like Golf, Tiguan, and Touran.
Besides its outrageous size, it has more to offer. The plant has more than 60,000 employees who (according to some claims) use cycles to move around the plant. The state-of-the-art twin towers filled with the world’s most trusted cars hold a spectacular vision for all car lovers. Besides, on average churning 780,000 vehicles annually, the plant deals with many other things, including the world’s largest paint shops.
Hyundai Motor Company Ulsan Plant, South Korea
Next on our list of the largest factories in the world is an automobile plant of Hyundai Motor Company in Ulsan, South Korea. This gigantic, 5,500,000 m² plant consists of 5 factories. The plant impressively churns one car every 10 seconds.
This plant is the ‘kingdom of Hyundai’ — a marvel of human creation. The massive plant produces 14 models of vehicles. Similarly, with 1.6 million annual productions, the plant has the highest vehicle production in the world. Besides cars, the plant also constitutes engine and transmission factories.
The factories complex has everything from the fire station, sewage treatment plant, private hospital, park, and restaurants to cargo ship docks.
AvtoVaz Togliatti Plant, Russia
Now, we move to Russia to find the third biggest factory in the world, sprawling in an area of 4,000,000 m². Surprisingly (or perhaps not so surprisingly), this one is an automobile company and the makers of the Russian beloved Lada vehicle. The AvtoVaz Togliatti Plant is massive, with a production capacity of 650,000.
With 42,000 workers and three assembly lines, the plant produces its flagship Lada and its many models, including Lada Niva, Granta, Xray, Largus, and Vesta. Besides, the plant also manufactured Renault Logan and Sandero models until Renault’s decision to halt its operations in Russia amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
Kia Hwaseong Plant, South Korea
Kia Corporation’s name is synonym for affordable yet high-quality vehicles. A subsidiary of Hyundai, Kia is the oldest car manufacturer in South Korea. The company has many stellar cars under its flag and is known for its simplicity and affordability.
The biggest plant of Kia and fourth on our list of the largest factories in the world is the Kia Hwaseong Plant, situated in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The plant proudly covers 3.2 million square meters of land. The plant churns Kia Forte, Optima, Sorento, Cadenza, and Mohave models.
Foxconn Longhua Plant, China
This plant (as they say, a technology park) is where all the magic happens. Foxconn is one of the world’s biggest electronic products manufacturers. The company produces essential products such as iPhones, iPads, iPods, Blackberry, PlayStation, Dell computers, and the list goes on and on.
To produce these trending products, naturally, one needs space and breeding grounds for state-of-the-art technology. So, Foxconn Longhua Plant gives exactly that.
The plant consists of Longhua Science Technology Park or Foxconn City, which employs hundreds of thousands of employees. These employees work day and night on this humungous 3,000,000 m² premise to convert the ideas envisioned in Silicon Valley into tangible products. The plant is the manufacturer of almost all Apple’s products.
Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG), USA
Now, let’s move on to the USA to West Point, Georgia. Here, the massive 2,200,000m² plant is impossible to miss. This plant has a yearly production of 340,000 vehicles. It is the only Kia plant in the USA that produces iconic Kia models of Sorento, Sportage, K5, and Telluride. The plant also has an on-site training center to train employees to meet Kia standards and keep up with cutting-edge technologies.
Kia Slovakia Zilina Plant, Slovakia
This one is another Kia plant in Zilina Slovakia, arguably the first manufacturing facility of Kia in Europe. The state-of-the-art facility sprawls at 1.6 million square meters of land. The facility is living and breathing in the future. Here, 3,800 workers work along with more than 500 robots. The plant has various shops — from paint, engine, and press to assembly.
Kia Gwangju Plant, South Korea
We know Kia also produces South Korea’s military vehicles, and the Gwangju Plant is one of the facilities where this happens. This massive plant spreads on 1,022,244 m² of land. The plant also churns models of Kia Carens, Soul, Sportage, and big-size buses.
Tesla Gigafactory 3 Shanghai, China
Now, let’s bid farewell to Kia and hop into Tesla Gigafactory in Shanghai China. This Tesla factory produces electronic vehicles Model Y and Model 3. The plant, with its 850,000 m² floor area, is in the 9th spot among the largest factories in the world. The factory started its production in 2018 and by 2019 became a turning point for Tesla. The factory became the most productive EV factory in the world by a wide margin and is now the main export hub of Tesla.
Until the famous Nevada Gigafactory construction does not end, which according to claims, will be the biggest plant ever, Tesla Gigafactory 3 is the biggest in the Tesla clan.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky
We started off our list of the top 10 largest factories in the world with an automobile plant and looks like ending with it too. Toyota Motor manufacturing plant in Kentucky is the largest facility for Toyota in the world. The plant spreads over a 752,515 square meters area with an annual production capacity of 550,000 vehicles and over 600,000 engines. The plant produces various models of America’s darling car — Camry. Besides, the plant also rolls out several models of Avalon and Lexus. More than 9,000 diligent workers work in the plant to produce and assemble cars, engines, and also engines and suspension parts.
The Bottom Line
To sum it up, as evident, automobile companies possess some of the largest factories in the world. Part of the reason behind these massive plants is that automobiles require mass production consisting of various manufacturing and assembly lines. So, having big plants allows these companies to streamline their processes, optimize their outputs and prevent inefficiencies.
