Hyundai Motor Group will invest $21 billion (approximately 31 trillion won) in the United States over the next four years starting this year. This plan was announced by Chairman Euisun Chung of Hyundai Motor Group at the White House in Washington, D.C., on the 24th.
Chairman Euisun Chung stated, "Hyundai Motor Group entered the U.S. market in 1986. Since then, we have invested more than $20 billion, and we have currently created over 570,000 jobs within the U.S. across all 50 states. Today, I am pleased to announce an additional $21 billion in new investments over the next four years. This is the largest investment since our entry into the U.S. To celebrate this milestone, it is an honor to visit President Trump alongside Governor Landrieu, Chairman Johnson, and Leader Scalise and to strengthen our partnership with the U.S. and reinforce our shared vision for U.S. industrial leadership."
The announcement was observed by President Donald Trump, who responded immediately, saying, "Hyundai does not have to pay tariffs." It appears that the tariffs policy of the Trump administration, which pressured Hyundai Motor Group, has created a breakthrough.
According to the announcement, Hyundai Motor Group will invest $21 billion in key areas such as automotive, parts and logistics, steel, and Mirae Industries from this year until 2028.
Hyundai Motor Group plans to expand the production capacity of the Hyundai Motor Group Meta Plant America (HMGMA) from 300,000 to 500,000 units ahead of its completion and is pursuing the construction of an electric arc furnace integrated steel mill in Louisiana. The group aims to enhance cooperation with U.S. corporations in fields like robotics and AI and also plans to implement investments related to energy infrastructure.
Through this investment, Hyundai Motor Group responds to the U.S. government's policies aimed at rebuilding the manufacturing sector and strengthens its status as a top-tier corporation in the U.S. by expanding business opportunities in various areas. Most importantly, the strategy is to enhance competitiveness in future business, including mobility, by diversifying the local foundation in the U.S., thereby solidifying its position as a sustainable corporation while increasing business credibility. At the same time, it is expected that Hyundai Motor Group's investments will stimulate economic revitalization in both Korea and the U.S. and further expand economic cooperation between the two countries.
Additionally, it is anticipated that there will be growth in domestic related industries and the creation of new added value. Hyundai Motor Group's overseas investments have improved local brand value and increased global demand, resulting in a virtuous cycle contributing to the growth of the domestic automotive and parts industries.
Hyundai Motor Group's investment plan in the U.S. focuses on the automotive, parts, logistics, steel, and Mirae Industries sectors.
In the automotive sector, Hyundai Motor Group will invest a total of $8.6 billion to establish a local production system capable of producing 1.2 million units in the U.S. The group has built up a production capacity of 1 million units in the U.S. starting with the Hyundai Alabama plant (360,000 units), which began operations in 2004, followed by the Kia Georgia plant (340,000 units) in 2010, and the completion of HMGMA (300,000 units) this year.
Hyundai Motor Group plans to first expand the capacity of HMGMA by 200,000 units, increasing the total capacity to 500,000. Additionally, the group will carry out complementary investments to modernize and optimize existing manufacturing facilities in Alabama and Georgia to continuously produce high-quality new vehicles. This will lay the groundwork for a production system capable of 1.2 million units in the future.
In the parts, logistics, and steel sectors, Hyundai Motor and Kia's partner firms will execute a total of $6.1 billion to strengthen the supply chain between completed vehicles and parts suppliers.
In line with the expansion of HMGMA's production capacity, the plan is to increase the localization rate of parts by expanding facilities and to procure key components for electric vehicles, such as battery packs, locally.
Additionally, an electric arc furnace steel mill with a capacity of 2.7 million tons will be built in Louisiana. This low-carbon automotive steel sheet specialized mill is expected to increase resilience against uncertain external risks such as tariffs by localizing the supply of high-quality automotive steel sheets. Moreover, a stable revenue stream is anticipated based on robust steel demand, securing new growth drivers in the steel sector.
In the Mirae Industries and energy sectors, $6.3 billion will be executed. The group aims to expand cooperation with leading U.S. companies related to autonomous driving, robotics, AI, and advanced air mobility and accelerate the commercialization of Boston Dynamics, Supernal, and Motional, Hyundai Motor Group's local corporations in the U.S.
Hyundai Motor Group is forming strategic partnerships with leading innovative companies in the U.S. to enhance collaboration. Various projects are underway with NVIDIA to improve core mobility solutions like SDV (software-defined vehicle) and robotics and to strengthen the application of AI technology across all business operations. Additionally, collaboration is being strengthened with Waymo, a U.S. autonomous driving company, to expand the autonomous taxi service (Waymo One) using the Ioniq 5 produced at the U.S. HMGMA.
Boston Dynamics and the "Robotics and AI Institute (RAI)" are strengthening their capabilities to develop intelligent robots based on reinforcement learning, while Supernal aims to collaborate with various states in the U.S. for unmanned aircraft testing, targeting commercialization of AAM vehicles by 2028. Motional, an autonomous driving subsidiary in the U.S., will also enhance autonomous driving technology beyond level 4 using data collection and AI model training.
Efforts will also be made to expand electric vehicle charging stations alongside investments in nuclear power and renewable energy.
Hyundai Engineering plans to start construction of SMR (small modular reactor) in Michigan, U.S., in collaboration with Holtec International by the end of this year. Hyundai Engineering acquired the rights for a solar power plant in Texas last year and is accelerating preparations for commercial operations in the first half of 2027. The group also plans to expand the installation of charging stations through IONNA, a consortium for ultra-fast electric vehicle charging services with U.S. automotive companies.
Hyundai Motor Group has also unveiled large-scale investment plans domestically. This year, it is conducting a record high annual investment of 24.3 trillion won. Earlier this year, Hyundai Motor Group announced its intention to carry out the largest investment in history to strengthen future competitiveness, centered around the Mobility Innovation Hub in Korea. This amount represents an increase of more than 19% compared to 20.4 trillion won in 2024.
Specifically, investments of 11.5 trillion won in research and development, 12 trillion won in regular investments, and 800 billion won in strategic investments will be executed.
Research and development investments will be used to secure core future capabilities such as enhancing product competitiveness, electrification, SDV, hydrogen products, and fundamental technology development. Regular investments will be allocated to expanding production facilities for responding to EV transitions and new vehicles, innovating manufacturing technologies, and enhancing customer experience hubs. Strategic investments will be planned to be executed to improve core future business competitiveness in autonomous driving, software, and AI.
In particular, significant investments will be made in constructing an exclusive EV factory. In the second half of this year, the Kia Hwaseong EVO Plant will be completed, and the group plans to start mass production of customer-customized PBV electric vehicles. The Hyundai Ulsan EV exclusive factory, currently under construction, aims for operation in the first half of 2026 and plans to produce various models starting with a large SUV electric vehicle.
A representative of Hyundai Motor Group stated, "The large-scale investments by Hyundai Motor Group in both Korea and the U.S. demonstrate our determination to strengthen future competitiveness through active challenges and continuous change and innovation without being discouraged by an uncertain business environment, while also creating new possibilities for humanity." They added, "By making bold investments, internalizing core technologies, and building strategic cooperation with top-tier corporations in both Korea and abroad, we will create opportunities for the future."
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