Hyundai starts up US plant for electric cars

Hyundai has started production at its new electric car plant in Georgia, USA. It has also entered into a multi-year partnership with Waymo in the US to integrate the Georgia-built Ioniq 5 into Waymo's autonomous driving fleet.

As the manufacturer confirmed to local media, the first units of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 rolled off the production line at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) at the beginning of October. In February, it was announced that production at the all-electric car plant would begin in the fourth quarter of 2024; the Ioniq 5 was only confirmed as the plant’s debut model in the summer.

Hyundai met this deadline and built the first production model on the third day of the quarter. “After validating its production processes to ensure its vehicles meet Hyundai Motor Group’s high quality standards, HMGMA has started initial production of customer vehicles ahead of schedule and less than two years after breaking ground at the megasite,” Hyundai confirmed to WSAV. “An employee-focused event was held on Oct. 3, 2024 to celebrate the first IONIQ 5 to roll off the line and recognise our Meta Pros’ hard work over the past 24 months.”

Hyundai is right on schedule

So far, the Ioniq 5s sold in the US have been imported from South Korea. The Georgia-built units will now meet the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) requirements, making them eligible for the US tax credit of up to $7,500. As a result, the entry-level price of the Ioniq 5 in the US would drop from 41,800 to 34,300 dollars, thus significantly boosting demand.

Hyundai announced the HMGMA in May 2022 – for up to 300,000 electric cars from the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands. Due to the IRA funding, the start of construction work in Bryan County was later moved up from early 2023 to October 2022. As a result, the planned start of production was rescheduled from early 2025 to the fourth quarter of 2024. As there were no serious delays in the construction and testing phase, series production started at the beginning of the targeted quarter.

Hyundai is also known to be building two battery cell factories in Georgia to localise the value chain and qualify for the generous US subsidy in the long term. One plant is being built together with LG Energy Solution near the EV plant in Bryan County. It is scheduled to operate at the end of 2025 at the earliest, with an annual capacity of 30 GWh. As reported, the Koreans are planning another factory with SK On. It will be built in Bartow County, in the north-west of Georgia near Atlanta. The production capacity of this factory is not yet known. However, the opening is also scheduled for 2025.

There is also other US news from Hyundai: the Korean car manufacturer is entering into a multi-year strategic partnership with Waymo. In the first phase of this cooperation, the companies will integrate Waymo’s sixth-generation fully autonomous technology – the Waymo Driver – into the all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5, which will join the Waymo One fleet over time.

The Ioniq 5 vehicles destined for the Waymo fleet will be manufactured at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America’s (HMGMA) new EV production facility in Georgia, after which Waymo’s autonomous technology will be integrated. The Hyundais for the Waymo fleet will be manufactured at HMGMA in Georgia and then delivered to Waymo, where the technology for the autonomous driving system will be integrated. That includes the large sensor unit on the roof, redundant hardware for safety reasons and electric doors.

According to Hyundai, the first road tests with Waymo-enabled Ioniq 5 are scheduled to begin at the end of 2025. “We are thrilled to partner with Hyundai as we further our mission to be the world’s most trusted driver,” said Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo. “Hyundai’s focus on sustainability and strong electric vehicle roadmap makes them a great partner for us as we bring our fully autonomous service to more riders in more places.”

“The team at our new manufacturing facility is ready to allocate a significant number of vehicles for the Waymo One fleet as it continues to expand,” added José Munoz, global COO at Hyundai and CEO of Hyundai Motor North America. “Importantly, this is the first step in the partnership between the two companies, and we are actively exploring additional opportunities for collaboration.”

wsav.com (series production), hyundai.news (Waymo)