Kia shares up on reports of adding EV plant in Georgia

Kia"s manufacturing plant in Georgia. [Photo by Kia Corp.]

Shares of Kia Corp. survived the overall Korean stock crash Tuesday upon foreign media reports of Hyundai Motor Group poised to add an electric vehicle-dedicated manufacturing plant in Georgia in the second facility investment in the U.S. state upon confirming strong response to its EVs.

Hyundai Motor shares closed 0.55 percent lower at 180,500 won ($141.41) on Tuesday amid broad retreat in the Korean stock market on stagflation scare in the U.S. as well as Korea. Kia shares added 1.82 percent to end at 84,100 won.

Hyundai Motor Group and Georgia state officials have held meetings to discuss a new car plant in the state to churn out EVs based on Hyundai’s proprietary EV-dedicated platform E-GMP, and the carmaker confirmed an imminent plan, reported Reuters on Monday (local time). Details about the construction costs and expected job additions were not disclosed.

The Korean motor group currently produces only conventional combustion engine models at Kia’s existing plant in Georgia. The new Georgia EV facility, if it is finalized, would serve Hyundai and Kia’s upcoming all-electric SUVs on E-GMP including Hyundai Ioniq 7 and Kia EV9 for the North American market, according to Reuters.

Hyundai Motor CEO Chang Jae-hoon during the 2022 CEO Investor Day early this year already announced that the company is reviewing an option to build a new EV-dedicated manufacturing plant. Since then, it has continued study whether to build a local EV plant for business expansion in the North American market.

Hyundai Motor"s Ioniq 5. [Photo by Hyundai Motor Co.]

An official from Hyundai Motor declined to comment on the Reuters report, saying nothing has been determined yet.

Last month, Hyundai Motor announced to add manufacturing lines for electrified models in the Alabama plant with 360 billion won investment and start production of the electrified versions of Genesis GV70 as the first all-electric EV model on E-GMP produced from the U.S.

Cumulative sales of Hyundai and Kia’s all-electric EVs on E-GMP – Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and Genesis GV60 – topped 50,000 units at home and 100,000 units overseas less than a year after their launches last year.

Hyundai Motor Group sold a total of 33,550 units of EVs – Hyundai Motor and Genesis 19,730 units and Kia 13,820 units on home turf. Of the total, 20,035 units or 59.7 percent were the all-electric models on E-GMP.

Globally, the group’s EV sales totaled 76,801 units up to March this year, of which 42,657 units or 56 percent were all-electric models on E-GMP.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]