Hyundai Motor is reviewing a plan to expand the annual output of its Georgia plant in the United States to as many as 800,000 vehicles.
José Muñoz, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor, said in an interview with CNBC on the 20th (local time) that the company is reviewing a plan to increase the annual capacity of Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) in Georgia from the current 500,000 vehicles to 700,000–800,000 vehicles by 2028.
Hyundai Motor Group plans to use this to raise the share of locally built vehicles among those it sells in the United States from about 40% in 2024 to more than 80% by 2029. If HMGMA's annual capacity increases to 800,000 vehicles, it is expected to overtake Tesla and Toyota to become the largest single auto manufacturing site in the United States.
Muñoz said, "The United States is the most important market in the world aside from Korea," adding that the company will push to expand capacity as part of a plan to invest a total of $26 billion (about 36 trillion won) in the United States by 2028.
He also cited U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy as a factor accelerating localization. Muñoz said, "Tariffs helped speed up our localization plans," adding, "Fortunately, we had already begun (localization efforts) before the tariffs were announced, and they are helping us pick up the pace."
HMGMA is a new plant Hyundai Motor Group built in Georgia to target the U.S. electric vehicle market. It was initially set up as a dedicated EV production base, but the company widened the lineup to hybrids in response to slowing global EV demand. It is currently producing the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 9, and the Kia Sportage hybrid, among others.
Along with expanding local production, Hyundai Motor Group plans to raise the share of parts sourced in North America to strengthen its U.S. supply chain. In particular, it will leverage local manufacturing in step with growing U.S. sales of its luxury brand Genesis.
On the same day at a media roundtable with Korean reporters in San Francisco, United States, Muñoz said the company will step up its push into the U.S. luxury market, led by the Genesis GV90, the brand's first extra-large flagship electric sport-utility vehicle (SUV).
The United States is becoming a core market for Hyundai Motor Group. According to market research firm Mobility Global, Hyundai Motor Group's U.S. market share rose from 8.4% in 2020 to 11.2% last year.