Hyundai Mobis to build 1st EV power system plant in Slovakia

Hyundai Mobis CEO Lee Gyu-suk (left) and Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico speak at the prime minister’s office on Tuesday after signing an agreement to build an electric vehicle power system manufacturing plant in Slovakia. (Hyundai Mobis)

Hyundai Mobis, an auto parts manufacturer under Hyundai Motor Group, said Thursday that it signed an agreement with the Slovakian government to set up its first manufacturing plant for electric vehicle power systems in Europe.

With a 350 billion won ($256.7 million) investment, Hyundai Mobis will construct a plant in the Novaky region of western Slovakia to produce EV drive units consisting of an electric motor, inverter and reducer. Once completed next year, the facility will have the capacity to supply systems for 300,000 EVs annually. This will be the company's third EV system production base in Europe, following its battery system manufacturing plants in the Czech Republic and Spain.

The company also plans to construct facilities for braking systems and airbags at its car seat modules production plant in Zilina, northwestern Slovakia, which has been operational since 2004.

Hyundai Mobis CEO Lee Gyu-suk and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico attended the signing ceremony held Tuesday at the prime minister’s office in the capital city of Bratislava.

“With the support from the Slovakian government, we will expand the electrification business in Central Europe and the new plant in the Novaky region will be at the forefront (of our EV push),” said Lee during the ceremony.

Slovakia serves as a strategic European base for Hyundai Mobis as global auto giants including Hyundai Motor Group’s Kia, Volkswagen, Stellantis, Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo either run or are constructing car manufacturing plants in the country.

Although several global carmakers are scaling back their electrification plans, the company expects gradual growth in Europe, the second-largest EV market after China.

To secure new customers, the company is debuting at the 2024 Paris Motor Show, Europe's largest automotive exhibition. Previously, the company had strengthened its local sales efforts by hosting exclusive tech shows in Paris for major European automakers such as Stellantis and Renault.

During the event, Hyundai Mobis will operate a private booth for pre-invited customers and engage in in-depth business discussions with senior executives from global carmakers, including C-level executives. The company also showcases 10 strategic technologies focusing on electrification, autonomous driving, in-vehicle infotainment and lighting systems.

Hyundai Mobis highlighted that its customer-oriented strategy has already yielded positive results in the European market. Last year, it secured orders worth trillions of won for battery systems from Volkswagen. Since the second half of 2022, it has also supplied chassis modules for Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles. With its stellar performance, the company achieved a record-breaking overseas order volume of $9.22 billion from North American and European automakers last year.

The company is also bolstering its electric car parts business outside of Europe. It is setting up a battery and electric vehicle power system plant in North America, which is set to begin operations this year. Indonesia’s newly built battery system production facility started mass production in July. By 2026, it will run 10 EV components production bases at home and abroad.

By Byun Hye-jin(hyejin2@heraldcorp.com)