Hyundai Motor to set up its first dedicated EV plant in South Korea

Hyundai Motor Co. has bared its plans to build a new production plant that will be fully dedicated to electric vehicles (EVs). The company is building the facility in its home country - in South Korea, and the target is to begin production in three years.

As per Reuters, the information was revealed by a union leader this week. It was noted that Hyundai Motor also made an announcement in May that it has plans to invest KRW63 trillion or around $48.07 billion for new facilities in South Korea through 2025.

While the company is not able to comment on this matter, the union said via a statement that Hyundai Motor made the pledge during their ongoing talks for wage hikes. The negotiation with the unionized workers in South Korea has not reached a solid agreement yet, and it could end in a possible strike which will be the first in four years.

It was also in May when the automaker said it would also be investing $5.5 billion to construct a full EV and battery production facility in Georgia, U.S.A. The company is scheduled to break ground in early 2023. The Korea Herald the plan to build the EV plant was unveiled during U.S. President Biden’s previous state visit to the country.

In any case, the union workers are also complaining about the company prioritizing its investments in the U.S. in a statement, the unionized workers said, “The carmaker has breached a labor and management agreement to hold a meeting with the union regarding the expansion or the construction of new plant outside Korea, as well as conduction conversation prior to the new announcement regarding job security.”

They added that “Media reports on Hyundai Motor’s plan for building new factory has caused not only the concerns but anger among workers here.”

Then again, despite the statement, Hyundai Motor is actually investing locally as well. In fact, the reports stated that it will be shelling out KRW21 trillion or about $16 billion, to increase its domestic EV production capacity by 2030. The target is to quadruple the current local capacity volume.

Finally, under this new KRW21 trillion, Hyundai Motor will be building a new production line for the sole production of electric Purpose Built Vehicle (PBV). The plant will soon rise in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, and 150,000 units are estimated to be built per year.