Hyundai Motor Group and LGES Invest 4.3 Billion to Build U.S. Plant

Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution (LGES) have announced the formation of a joint venture to manufacture electric vehicle batteries in the US. Hyundai and LG will each hold a 50 percent stake in the joint venture, and the total investment will exceed $4.3 billion (5.7 trillion won). The new joint venture will have an annual production capacity of 30GWh, which can support an annual production of 300,000 electric vehicles. The plant will be located in Savannah, Georgia, in Blaine County, adjacent to Hyundai's U.S. manufacturing plant, which is currently under construction. The joint venture plans to start construction in the second half of 2023 and put into production batteries by the end of 2025 at the earliest.

Mobis, a subsidiary of Hyundai, will use the cells produced by the joint venture to assemble battery packs, which will then be supplied to Hyundai Group's U.S. manufacturing plant for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EV models. The new facility will help to establish a stable supply of batteries in the region and enable the Group to respond quickly to the soaring demand for electric vehicles in the US market.

Through the joint venture, LGES currently has seven battery factories in the U.S. that are operating or under construction, and the company is focusing most of its resources on expanding capacity. LGES aims to accelerate America's clean energy transition by delivering innovative products at the scale and speed of local manufacturing.

Hyundai Group and LGES have long been partners in electrification, working to supply batteries for electric vehicles, including the Elantra Hybrid, Kona Electric and the IONIQ 6 dedicated EV. Launched in 2009, the Hyundai Elantra Hybrid, the LPi Hybrid, is the group's first electric model. In 2021, the two parties will begin construction of the Indonesian battery joint venture, which will be put into operation in the first half of 2024.