Hyundai is constructing facilities in Savannah, Georgia, dedicated to the production of electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries, making it the company’s first EV-only plant in the United States. The South Korean manufacturer would invest $5.5 billion in the new facility, with suppliers contributing an additional $1 billion.
Hyundai anticipates that production will begin on the 2,923-acre site in the first half of 2025, with construction beginning in early 2023. The EV facility is expected to produce 300,000 vehicles per year and create approximately 8,100 new jobs. Hyundai does not identify which EV models would be produced at the factory, only that a “broad range” of vehicles will be produced on Georgia’s assembly lines. The business also doesn’t say much about its battery-building plant, except that it “will be built through a strategic collaboration.”
Hyundai’s electric vehicle lineup now includes the Kona Electric, Ioniq 5, and the Nexo powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. The all-electric EV6 and Niro are also available from Hyundai-owned Kia, as are the GV60, GV70, and GV80 EVs from Hyundai’s luxury Genesis brand.
In addition to the new Georgia facilities, Hyundai has declared that it will invest more than $10 billion in the United States by 2025 to explore diverse technologies such as autonomous driving, robotics, artificial intelligence, and advanced air mobility. The $5.5 billion set out for its new EV factory is part of that reserve.
The state of Georgia signed a deal with Rivian earlier this month, offering $1.5 billion in tax breaks to entice the company to relocate to the state. The $5 billion factories are planned to employ 7,500 people by 2028 and generate 400,000 EVs each year.
Other EV factories are springing up across the country. Toyota is constructing a $1.29 billion battery factory in North Carolina, and General Motors intends to bring its third EV battery manufacturing to Michigan. Stellantis, the parent company of Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler, is also planning to develop an EV manufacturing in the United States, though the location has yet to be determined. Similarly, Ford and SK Innovation, a South Korean battery manufacturer, are bringing new EV-focused plants to Tennessee and Kentucky. Tesla already has numerous factories in the United States dedicated to making batteries and EVs, and another was recently established in Austin, Texas.
