Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) today celebrated the opening of its new manufacturing facility outside Savannah, Georgia. Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) is the automotive giant's factory of the future, setting the company up for regional production of new vehicles, including the forthcoming Hyundai Ioniq 9 SUV.
HMGMA is part of a $7.59 billion investment made in Bryan County, Georgia, by HMG. A joint venture 30 gigawatt-hour battery plant with LG Energy Solution (LGES). It joins the company's SK On battery plant in Commerce, Georgia, as a producer of batteries for HMG's electric vehicles and brings the company's total investment in the state to $12.6 billion. The new site is the largest economic development project in the state's history.
"HMGMA is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, made possible by our commitment to working with job creators to build fruitful partnerships for decades. Collaborations between HMGMA and Georgia's universities and technical colleges, including Georgia Quick Start's on-site training facility, are preparing Georgians for high-quality jobs of today and tomorrow, while our award-winning infrastructure, such as our ports, connects companies to markets around the nation and globe," said Georgie's Governor Brian Kemp, who attended the opening ceremony alongside Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung, U.S. Representative Buddy Carter, Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chair Jaehoon Chang, Hyundai Motor Company President and CEO José Muñoz and Kia Corporation President and CEO Ho Sung Song.
HMG is the parent company of the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis vehicle brands, Hyundai Mobis (a smart mobility company), Hyundai Transys (an automotive parts manufacturer), Hyundai Glovis (a logistics company) and Hyundai Steel.
It is the company's second plant in Georgia. The other, Kia Georgia in West Point, makes the Telluride, Sorento, Sportage, EV9 and EV6 SUVs. And it is the company's third plant in America's Southeast. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, in Montgomery, makes the Hyundai Tucson, Santa Fe and Santa Fe Hybrid SUVs, Hyundai Santa Cruz truck and Genesis GV70 SUVs.
HMGMA features 16 million square feet of manufacturing space and will have the ability to manufacture 500,000 units annually once it is fully operational.
Construction of the facility began in January 2023.
The site is strategically located off Interstate 16, close to Interstate 95 and the Port of Savannah, and linked to Class 1 rail. Class 1 rail is designated for freight transportation in the U.S.
HMGMA employs proof-of-concept manufacturing processes and technologies from Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore, scaled to accommodate the larger volume of production at the Georgia site.
The new manufacturing facility has its processes (order collection, procurement, logistics and production) optimized using artificial intelligence and real-time data gathering.
In an additional move to improve efficiency, robots assist humans in their work. Boston Dynamics' Spot robot completes exterior inspection tasks. In 2021, Hyundai acquired Boston Dynamics at the cost of $1.1 billion.
The factory floor has been designed to encourage communication and collaboration, with open layouts that feature daylight streaming in via skylights and indoor landscaping.
Those traveling by the site on the interstate are able to get a peek at production as vehicles travel by conveyor belt from the paint shop to the general assembly area of the plant.
HMGMA's parking lot generates solar energy via panels above its 1,878 spaces, enough to account for 5 percent of the plant's total power consumption.
The site also features a 41-acre park with trails, running tracks, sports fields and picnic areas, all spaces the company's workers, called Meta Pros, are encouraged to use.
HMG will utilize 21 XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks, which run on hydrogen fuel and have no emissions except water vapor, at the site as part of its logistics operation. This deployment marks the first step the company is making to reduce emissions from its internal logistics operations.
The Ioniq 5 was first vehicle to be produced at factory, rolling off the assembly line on October 3, 2024.
HMG's investment in Georgia is predicted by the company to result in 8,500 new jobs at HMGMA by 2031, representing $4.6 billion in individual earnings annually, the Center for Automotive Research said.
Bringing the plant online has had a chain effect for jobs and investment in Georgia. Through the end of 2024, 6,900 jobs and capital investments totaling $2.5 billion have been announced by HMGMA suppliers in 12 of the state's 159 counties. The numbers are more than double what HMG had originally projected.
The factory opens on the heels of the company's Monday announcement that it will invest $21 billion in the U.S. from 2025 to 2028. The amount is greater than the $20.5 billion the company has invested in the country to date, since it entered the market in 1986.
Of the $21 billion, $9 billion will be spent to increase the company's production capacity to 1.2 million vehicles annually across its three brands. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama and Kia Georgia will receive improved production facilities.
The company's logistics operation will receive a $6 billion infusion as the company aims to localize production of automotive components, including battery packs, that will provide resources to the company's manufacturing facilities. And, Hyundai Steel will build a mill in Louisiana capable of producing millions of tons of steel annually, utilizing steel scrap.
Key alliances with tech leaders including Boston Dynamics (robotics), NVIDIA (artificial intelligence solutions), Waymo (robotaxis) and Supernal (eVTOL development) to drive innovation will cost the company $6 billion. HMG sees these investments as part of its strategic mission to redefine mobility.
The final $6 billion will go toward energy infrastructure investments linked to new business opportunities.
HMG projects that the $21 billion in investment will create more than 100,000 direct and indirect job opportunities.
"We expect that automakers and suppliers will make investment announcements in this environment," Stephanie Brinley, associate director of AutoIntelligence at S&P Global, told Newsweek.
"The HMG announcements align with previously announced projects and expected direction, with the exception of the U.S. steel production. As Hyundai increases U.S. vehicle production, having access to its own steel in the region gives it an advantage even without tariffs.
"The increase in production capacity opens the ability to be more flexible on sourcing and more responsive to U.S. demand changes, in particular with the ability to produce more electrified vehicles in the U.S. Being able to produce more electrified vehicles in the U.S. is enabled by the previous investment into U.S. battery manufacturing.
"These investments continue to build on each other and they support the reality that it is less costly to build where you sell as volume increases," she said. "Hyundai's announcements support the growth the company targets for the U.S. market."
Update 3/26/2025, 2:25 p.m. ET: The total number of units that the facility will be able to manufacture annually has been updated.
About the writer
Eileen Falkenberg-Hull leads the Autos team at Newsweek. She has written extensively about the auto industry for U.S. News & ... Read more