Hyundai Motor Group to invest $21 billion in the US

Hyundai Motor Group has announced plans to invest $21 billion (±€ 19.5 billion) in the United States between 2025 and 2028. This investment aims to increase the company’s US production capacity to 1.2 million vehicles.

Additionally, component manufacturing, including the production of battery packs, will be strengthened. Hyundai’s Executive President, Chung Eui-sun, announced the news at the White House in the presence of a reasonably triumphant Donald Trump.

According to Hyundai, $9 billion will be allocated to expanding vehicle production and achieving an annual production capacity of 1.2 million vehicles across the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands in the United States.

A further $6 billion will be invested in increasing the localization rate of automotive components, including key parts for electric vehicles, such as battery packs.

Not only cars

The remaining $6 billion will be invested to expand “future industries and strengthen external partnerships and energy infrastructure,” as Hyundai’s headquarters in Seoul announced. This also includes investments in charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, although no specific sum has been disclosed.

Hyundai’s future-oriented investments also encompass its partnership with Nvidia to accelerate the development of AI solutions for next-generation mobility, including autonomous driving and robotics, and its collaboration with Boston Dynamics in robotics.

Additionally, Hyundai supplies Waymo with autonomous vehicles and advances its air taxi projects through its subsidiary, Supernal. In short, the company’s ambitions extend far beyond cars.

To put the total investment of $21 billion over the next three years into perspective, according to the company, Hyundai has invested 20.5 billion US dollars in the country since entering the US market in 1986. This amount, accumulated over 39 years, will now effectively be doubled within just three years.

Increasing commitment in the US

With these investments, the company expects to create 14,000 new full-time direct jobs in the United States by 2028. Hyundai anticipates the initiative will generate “more than 100,000 direct and indirect jobs for the economy” across related industries, including suppliers and partners.

Geopolitical context

In recent years, Hyundai has already made significant investments, such as retrofitting existing US plants for electric vehicle production and establishing battery partnerships with cell manufacturers for local US production.

Later this week, the grand opening ceremony of the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia will take place. The ceremony will mark the “completion of the largest economic development project in Georgia’s history, just two and a half years after breaking ground.” It will be a symbolic event, as electric vehicles have been produced there since October 2024.