Hyundai says it will spend $2.7 billion expanding part of the Georgia
complex raided by ICE
[September 19, 2025] By
JEFF AMY
ATLANTA (AP) — Hyundai Motor Group on Thursday confirmed it is going
forward with previously announced plans to expand its Georgia plant,
just weeks after an immigration raid delayed the startup of an electric
vehicle battery plant at the site.
As part of a broader investment strategy, Hyundai said it would spend
$2.7 billion to increase production capacity at the Ellabell site by
200,000 over the next three years, to a total of 500,000 vehicles a
year.
The company first announced the expansion in March at the grand opening
of the plant west of Savannah, and had said in August that it would
invest an additional $5 billion in United States overall. But the raid,
which included arrests of more than 300 South Korean citizens, led to
questions about the wisdom of the Asian nation investing in the U.S..
The company said it now plans to produce 10 models of electric and
hybrid gas-electric vehicles in Georgia, up from the current two the
plant has been assembling as it ramps up production. Hyundai says it's
still on track to expand production worldwide to 5.6 million vehicles a
year by 2030. The automaker pledged that 60% of those vehicles will be
electric or hybrid powered, targeting sales in South Korea, North
America and Europe.
Hyundai said that it plans to make more than 80% of vehicles sold in the
United States domestically by 2030, with total domestic content
increasing from 60% to 80%. For the first time, the vehicles would
include a mid-sized pickup truck, a key vehicle class in the U.S.
market. The company already makes the Santa Cruz model, a four-door
compact pickup, that it started selling in 2021.

Hyundai CEO José Muñoz has said the immigration raid will delay opening
the battery plant by at least two to three months. Spokesperson Michael
Stewart said Thursday that the facility will open in the first half of
2026.
Both Hyundai executives and Georgia officials have been trying to calm
the situation since the raid, which mushroomed into a diplomatic dispute
between South Korea and the United States.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp told reporters Tuesday at a ceremony marking
the groundbreaking of a Rivian Automotive electric vehicle plant that he
remains confident Georgia's business advantages would “win out” in terms
of foreign investment. The raid may even wind up smoothing the way for
South Korean employees to more easily obtain legal permission to help
build and operate facilities in the United States, he said.
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Vehicles move on the line at the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant
America, March 26, 2025, in Ellabell, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart,
File)
 “I’ve had good conversations with
companies that are here doing business in Georgia, companies that
are looking to do business here,” Kemp said. “And I’ve had good
conversations with people in the White House about the visa issue.”
Brent Stubbs, the chief administrative officer of the Ellabell site,
wrote in an opinion piece published Wednesday in The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution that the company is still committed to Georgia.
“This situation doesn’t change our plans to continue expanding and
localizing in the United States," Stubbs wrote. “Our investments in
America are part of a long-term strategic plan.”
The $2.7 billion investment confirmed Thursday will go to expanding
capacity at the plant and group affiliates, Stewart said. That would
bring total investment in the auto plant to $10.3 billion, not
counting the $4.3 billion that Hyundai and its joint-venture
partner, LG Energy Solution, are putting into the battery plant.
Hyundai and its onsite affiliates currently have 3,129 employees in
Ellabell, Stewart said. Hyundai pledges to hire at least 8,500
workers by the end of 2031. State and local governments have
promised $2.1 billion in tax breaks and other incentives.
The boost at the Ellabell site is the biggest part Hyundai's plan to
raise production by 1.2 million vehicles a year worldwide. That
includes another 250,000 vehicles out of Pune, India; and 200,000
more at Hyundai's electric vehicle plant in Ulsan, South Korea. The
automaker said it would also deliver parts for assembly into an
additional 250,000 vehicles at plants in Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and
North Africa.
Hyundai underlined a previous announcement to deepen its investment
in robotics and said that by 2027 it would launch extended-range
electric vehicles with gasoline motors to extend the range of its
electric batteries to more than 600 miles (960 kilometers).
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