US state of Georgia announced on Friday that South Korean automaker Hyundai will be setting up an EV and battery plant. It will be a $5.5 billion manufacturing plant located near Savannah. Hyundai Motor Company president Jay Chang along with Brian Kemp made the announcement. Stated that around 8,000 jobs will be created by setting up the plant.
Kemp said, “We are proud to welcome Hyundai Motor Group to Georgia as we forge an innovative future together,” According to Kemp, the plant is “the largest economic development project in our state’s history.” According to Hyundai suppliers, they are going to invest another $1 billion in the factory. It will be having a capacity of 300,000 units.
The construction is expected to begin by January 2023 and be completed by half of 2025. Further details about which vehicle models will be manufactured are not revealed yet. Chang said in a statement, “This new EV plant is the future of our business, and it will help us meet the growing demands of our US customers.” Hyundai has targeted that around 27% of its global fleet will be electric by 2030. Furthermore, with the battery production, Hyundai aims “to establish a stable supply chain for EV battery and other EV components in the US market.”
US manufacturing plant
Biden arrived on Friday in South Korea, on a trip aimed at cementing economic ties with Seoul. He is due to meet with Chang on Sunday, according to the White House. The Hyundai plant will be the second electric vehicle factory in Georgia: electric truck maker Rivian announced in December that it will invest $5 billion to build its second US assembly plant there. Hyundai aims to be the third-largest provider of electric vehicles in the United States by 2026, but it faces stiff competition.
The sector is currently dominated by Tesla, but traditional automakers General Motors and Ford plan to invest tens of billions of dollars to increase their electric offerings in the coming years, and many start-ups are also trying to break into the industry.
