Hyundai Motor and SK Confirm US Battery Plant... Annual Production Capacity of 300,000 Vehicles

Hyundai Motor Company and SK have decided to invest 6.5 trillion won to build a battery joint venture factory in the United States. This move aims to actively respond to market demand amid the rapid adoption of electric vehicles locally.

Hyundai Motor Company, Kia, and Hyundai Mobis announced on the 25th that they held a regular board meeting and approved the establishment of a North American battery cell joint venture with SK On. Previously, Hyundai Motor Group and SK On signed a business agreement for battery supply in North America.

Last October, Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, and Brian Kemp, Governor of Georgia, USA, participated in the groundbreaking ceremony of Hyundai Motor Group Meta Plant America.

According to the board’s decision, the joint venture factory will be built in Bartow County, Georgia, USA, with an annual production capacity of 35GWh. This factory will produce battery cells for 300,000 electric vehicles. Hyundai Motor Group and SK will jointly invest 5 billion USD (approximately 6.5 trillion won), with each holding a 50% stake. Hyundai Motor Group and SK On will each contribute 1.62 trillion won to the joint venture, while the remainder will be financed through loans by the joint venture company.

The battery cells produced at the joint venture factory will be assembled into battery packs by Hyundai Mobis and supplied entirely to Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis electric vehicles manufactured in the United States. Hyundai Motor Group has been using SK batteries in key dedicated electric vehicles such as the Ioniq 5.

The joint venture factory is located about 189 km away from Kia’s Georgia plant in the same state. It is 304 km from Hyundai Motor’s Alabama plant and 460 km from Hyundai Motor Group’s dedicated electric vehicle plant (Metaplant America), scheduled for completion in 2025. The company explained that this is advantageous for supply chain management.

SK Battery Plant in Georgia, USA

Hyundai Motor Group stated, "Through the establishment of the joint venture with SK On, we will locally procure battery cells optimized for vehicles produced in the United States to timely manufacture and sell highly competitive electric vehicles with high efficiency, high performance, and safety."

Hyundai Motor Group is also discussing a battery cell joint venture with LG Energy Solution. Specific investment scale and production volume have not yet been disclosed.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.