Hyundai announced that it will invest 2.7 billion dollars in the next three years in its Georgia plant, where a migratory raid that resulted in the arrest and subsequent departure of the United States of more than 300 South Korean workers was recently.
This investment is part of the road map until 2030 that the South Korean manufacturer revealed today in a statement, and that has among other objectives the production capacity of Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America at 500,000 units by 2028, mainly hybrid and electric vehicles.
“Hyundai Motor aims to produce more than 80 percent of vehicles sold in the United States nationwide by 2030, and the content of the supply chain will increase from 60 percent to 80 percent,” he added.
The company first reported its expansion plans in the United States in March during the inauguration of the electric vehicle plant in Georgia.
However, these same facilities were the place of a raid on September 4 in which the authorities of the Immigration and Customs Control Service (ICE, in English) arrested some 475 workers, including more than 300 South Korean citizens.
This raised tensions between the governments of South Korea and the United States. According to the Department of National Security (DHS), the workers detained entered the country illegally, they stayed longer than allowed by their visas or entered with visa exemptions that do not allow them to work.
The automobile manufacturer also cut its goal of operating profit margin by 2025 to 6-7% from the 7-8% announced above, citing the impact of US tariffs. The company said that it still expects the benefit margins to improve at 7-8% by 2027 and 8-9% by 2030.
Hyundai Motor, who together with his subsidiary Kia Corp, is the third largest car manufacturer in sales, said that his Georgia factory will reach a production capacity of 500,000 vehicles a year by 2028, with a mixture of hybrid and electric vehicles (EVS).
José Muñoz, Hyundai Motor co-zo, speaking on Thursday in a day of investors in New York, said he hopes that the US and South Korea find solutions for short-term business trips for specialized workers, after South Korean workers were arrested during an operation in their battery factory in Georgia.
Muñoz said that many of the workers were helping to calibrate and test the advanced battery production technology in a plant that supports Hyundai’s operations in the US.
Hyundai said that 40% of the vehicles sold in the US, its largest market that generates about 40% of its income, were produced in America this year.
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“Hyundai’s plan to manufacture 80% of the vehicles she sells in the US could help damage the impact of US Trump tariffs, but with the uncertainty about whether these tariff Shin Yoon-Chul said, Kiwoom Securities analyst.
Shin said Hyundai will need to justify why maintaining production in the US at that level would continue to make sense in the long term, even if tariffs are eliminated, for example, showing that once the Georgia factory is profitable, the deployment of humanoid robots there could further improve profitability.
The car manufacturer also plans to expand its global hybrid line to more than 18 models by the end of the decade, from the 14 planned models announced last year, and will launch extended range electric vehicles (EREVS) in 2027 and its first medium -sized truck in North America before 2030.
The company said its Georgia factory will produce a mixture of 10 hybrid and electric models.
Muñoz said that the company’s revised financial guide was based on the current 25% tariff rate in the US, adding that its plan to produce 80% of the vehicles it sells in the US is locally to reduce exposure to tariffs and strengthen growth, but not at the expense of production in South Korea.
“We need to grow in the US and produce what we sell in the US, but Korea should not worry,” Muñoz said.
He added that “we all hope that both governments can achieve an agreement sooner rather than later”, which would create opportunities this year and help Hyundai plan next year.
On July 30, President Trump said that US will charge a 15% tariff on southern Korea imports, falling from 25% that had previously been threatened, and will reduce tariffs on 15% cars imports from the current 25%, in exchange for Seul to invest 350,000 million dollars in the US.
This week, Washington implemented a lower tariff rate of 15% on imports of cars and cars pieces in Japan, at a time when South Korea still faces a 25% tariff rate for cars.
Seoul and Washington have been fighting to overcome obstacles and end the trade agreement agreed in July, with details on an investment fund of 350,000 million dollars that have not yet been resolved.
In July, Hyundai Motor said that US tariffs cost the company 828 billion WON (606.37 million dollars) in the second quarter, and the impact will be greater in the period from July to September.
With information from EFE and Reuters.
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