Hyundai Motor pledges to increase US production amid Trump risk

By Lee Min-hyung, The Korea Times - Hyundai Motor will alleviate possible policy risks from the United States by increasing localized production with the carmaker’s planned opening of a new mega-sized manufacturing facility in Georgia, its President and CEO Jose Muñoz said Thursday.

“We are looking forward to officially opening Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) in Georgia (next week),” he told investors during its regular shareholders' meeting. “Our localization strategy in the important U.S. market will help mitigate the impact of any potential policy change.”

His remarks reflect the increasing trade pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened to impose a 25-percent tariff on vehicles imported from non-American countries. He is set to reveal details of the duty on April 2.

This is feared to deal a severe blow to Hyundai Motor Group’s three auto brands — Hyundai Motor, Kia and Genesis — as their sales and revenue reliance on the world’s largest economy is rapidly increasing. They still mostly rely on exports for car sales in the U.S.

The top executive from the carmaker, however, expressed confidence in overcoming the uncertainty by increasing production in the U.S.

“The HMGMA is ramping up production of the 2025 IONIQ 5 electric vehicle (EV), which is already on sale, and it is preparing to produce the IONIQ 9 EV at the end of the first quarter,” Muñoz said. “Preparation to add hybrid production is already underway.”

As Trump continues to step up his aggressive rhetoric against carmakers and countries with a strong trade surplus with the U.S., most Korean conglomerates, which reported solid earnings there, are outwardly promoting their investment-wise achievement in the U.S.

“Hyundai Motor and its partners are investing $12.6 billion (18.4 trillion won) in an assembly plant and two battery joint ventures, enabling additional production capacity,” Muñoz said. “The decision to make this investment was made during the first Trump administration.”

The carmaker also reiterated its pledge to invest $90 billion over the next decade to develop 21 new EVs, expand hybrid lineups from seven to 14, and increase its EV sales to more than 2 million units globally.

The carmaker passed a set of agendas during the shareholders’ meeting. Firstly, it approved an amendment to its articles of incorporation by including the hydrogen business.

The latest move will speed up the carmaker’s ongoing drive to build a complete value chain for hydrogen mobility. The carmaker is set to launch its new Nexo hydrogen-powered vehicle at the end of this year.

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun was also reappointed as its internal director. Notably, the carmaker’s shareholders also appointed Jin Eun-sook, executive vice president of Hyundai Motor’s ICT innovation division, as its first woman internal director.

Source: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2025/03/419_394607.html