A Hyundai Motor Group electric vehicle part producer will expand its U.S. operations just as the South Korean company gets close to breaking ground on its $5.5 billion EV factory near Savannah.
Hyundai Mobis announced it will invest $1.3 billion in the U.S. by building a EV components factory, first reported Thursday by Korean media outlets citing a regulatory filing.
The location of the future plant was not disclosed, but the Korea Economic Daily reported the factory will be located “near” the future EV factory in Bryan County.
Georgia is among the states in discussion with Mobis for the parts plant, two people with knowledge of the developments but who were not authorized to comment, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. One of those people said other suppliers are also in discussions to locate new facilities near the future Hyundai plant in Bryan County.
A Georgia Department of Economic Development spokesperson and Hugh “Trip” Tollison, president and CEO of the Savannah Economic Development Authority, declined to comment on “projects that we may or may not be working on.”
The announcement of the Mobis plant comes amid consternation about changes to the U.S.’s EV tax credit policies. The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden over the summer, requires all EV automakers to undergo final assembly in North America to qualify for consumer tax credits up to $7,500 for each vehicle, among other stipulations.
Last week, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock introduced a bill to tweak the tax credit policy to provide a grace period for foreign automakers to move manufacturing to North America after several companies, including Hyundai, complained.
Hyundai announced in May its plans to build the gigantic EV factory on a 3,000-acre megasite along I-16, about 30 minutes west of Savannah. It would be Georgia’s largest economic development project and is expected to employ 8,100.
State and local officials wooed the Korean automaker to Georgia using an incentive package valued at more than $1.8 billion. As part of that agreement, Hyundai committed to having its suppliers invest $1 billion in Georgia manufacturing operations.
Georgia’s relationship with South Korea has blossomed in recent years, and several Korean companies have ramped up investment in the Peach State.
Mobis already operates a factory in West Point near a Kia manufacturing plant, another one of Hyundai’s subsidiaries. Mobis also has plants in Alabama and Michigan, but this upcoming factory will be the company’s first EV components plant in the U.S. The components and modules manufactured in the factory will be supplied to Hyundai Motor and Kia EV facilities in the U.S.
Mobis America, a U.S. subsidiary of Hyundai Mobis, will be in charge of the factory. With construction beginning in 2023, the full $1.3 billion investment is expected to be delivered by 2030.
“This investment, designed to strengthen our cooperation with affiliates Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp., will facilitate our efforts to enhance Hyundai’s presence in the US EV market,” a Hyundai Mobis official told the Economic Daily. Mobis America did not immediately respond to the AJC’s request for comment.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the Hyundai EV factory in Bryan County is expected to take place in coming weeks, with production anticipated to start in 2025.
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