Hyundai and LG Energy Solutions announced plans to invest an additional $2 billion and hire 400 more employees to produce batteries at the automaker’s massive U.S. electric vehicle plant in Georgia, which is currently under construction.
The South Korean companies’ announcement builds on a three-month-old partnership to produce batteries at the same location west of Savannah, where Hyundai intends to begin EV production in 2025.
The development increases the firms’ overall investment in the Georgia factory to more than $7.5 billion and the site’s anticipated employment to 8,500.
Additionally, Hyundai said it would invest $5.5 billion in 2022 to build EVs and batteries on 2,900 acres in the Ellabell neighborhood.
According to Hyundai spokesperson Michael Stewart, the increased investment and jobs announced do not indicate that the battery plant will create more batteries. The joint venture’s original capacity of 300,000 EV batteries per year is still the expectation of the business’s plant. Stewart’s email asserts, “The plant does have the potential to expand depending on market conditions and demand,” it adds, “Hyundai remains very optimistic about the transition to EVs.”
Hyundai’s first U.S. plant dedicated to EV manufacturing was hailed as the most significant economic development project in Georgia’s history when it was first announced in 2022. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp praised Hyundai and LG’s new investment in the facility. He added, “Today, we’re building on that success as we continue to make Georgia the e-mobility capital of the nation.”
According to Jessica Atwell, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Economic Development, Georgia and local governments will provide further incentives. She clarified that those would only be made public once the paperwork is complete.
