Hyundai Motor Group has replaced the chief executive officer (CEO) of Hyundai Motor Group Meta Plant America (HMGMA) in Georgia, U.S. The company aims to accelerate the expansion of eco-friendly vehicle production in the U.S. through organizational restructuring via the CEO change.
According to industry sources on the 1st, Hyundai Motor appointed Heo Tae-yang, the head of production at the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) plant, as the new CEO president to lead the meta plant. His tenure begins on the 2nd of this month, as the former CEO Kwon Oh-chung, who had been leading the establishment of the meta plant, retired at the end of last month.
New CEO President Heo Tae-yang graduated from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Pusan National University and joined Hyundai Motor in 1995, accumulating experience in manufacturing operations, strategic planning, and production coordination. Since 2021, he has held the position of head of overall production at the Alabama plant.
Hyundai Motor is accelerating localization in the U.S. centered around the meta plant. In the first half of this year, the meta plant produced 33,714 units, with an operating rate of 72.6% and a production capacity of 51,000 units during the same period.
Established as a production base with an annual capacity of 300,000 units, the meta plant was completed in March of this year. It is currently producing electric vehicles including the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9, with plans to produce vehicles from Kia and Genesis in the future. Hyundai Motor aims to increase the annual production volume of the meta plant from 300,000 to 500,000 units.