Hyundai on Monday broke ground on a 2-trillion won (about R28.51bn) dedicated electric vehicle (EV) plant in South Korea as the carmaker accelerates a shift to electrification.
Hyundai, the world's No 3 carmaker by sales with its affiliate Kia, plans to begin mass production of EVs from the plant in the first quarter of 2026 after completing construction in 2025.
The factory in Ulsan in the southeast of the country will have an annual capacity of 200,000 units and the company said its first model will be an electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) from its luxury brand Genesis.
Hyundai, which encompasses Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands, said in April it plans to launch 31 EVs by 2030.
Hyundai's executive chair Euisun Chung, CEO and other officials, including the Ulsan mayor, attended the event to witness the ground breaking of the EV factory, the automaker's first new plant in South Korea in 29 years. Hyundai's Ulsan complex is its biggest manufacturing site.
The groundbreaking comes after Hyundai said it would stick to its EV rollout plans, a contrast to some rivals that have pulled back on EV production due to cooling demand.
Last year Hyundai broke ground on a $5.5bn (R103.84bn) EV and battery plant in Georgia, US.
Asked whether the company had plans to build additional dedicated EV plants, Hyundai CEO Jaehoon Chang told reporters it was focused on the plants in the US and at home.
Chang said Hyundai was monitoring sentiment in the EV market, but believed the trend for EVs was positive regardless of charging infrastructure issues.
Citing flattening demand for EVs, General Motors said it would delay production by a year of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra electric pickup trucks at a plant in Michigan. Ford is temporarily cutting one of three shifts at the plant that builds its electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck.
Tesla is also slowing plans for a Mexico factory, while GM and Honda announced last month that they were ending a $5bn (R93.74bn) plan to develop lower-cost EVs together.
Hyundai breaks ground on new $1.5bn EV plant
Image: Supplied
Hyundai on Monday broke ground on a 2-trillion won (about R28.51bn) dedicated electric vehicle (EV) plant in South Korea as the carmaker accelerates a shift to electrification.
Hyundai, the world's No 3 carmaker by sales with its affiliate Kia, plans to begin mass production of EVs from the plant in the first quarter of 2026 after completing construction in 2025.
The factory in Ulsan in the southeast of the country will have an annual capacity of 200,000 units and the company said its first model will be an electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) from its luxury brand Genesis.
Hyundai, which encompasses Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands, said in April it plans to launch 31 EVs by 2030.
Hyundai's executive chair Euisun Chung, CEO and other officials, including the Ulsan mayor, attended the event to witness the ground breaking of the EV factory, the automaker's first new plant in South Korea in 29 years. Hyundai's Ulsan complex is its biggest manufacturing site.
The groundbreaking comes after Hyundai said it would stick to its EV rollout plans, a contrast to some rivals that have pulled back on EV production due to cooling demand.
Last year Hyundai broke ground on a $5.5bn (R103.84bn) EV and battery plant in Georgia, US.
Asked whether the company had plans to build additional dedicated EV plants, Hyundai CEO Jaehoon Chang told reporters it was focused on the plants in the US and at home.
Chang said Hyundai was monitoring sentiment in the EV market, but believed the trend for EVs was positive regardless of charging infrastructure issues.
Citing flattening demand for EVs, General Motors said it would delay production by a year of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra electric pickup trucks at a plant in Michigan. Ford is temporarily cutting one of three shifts at the plant that builds its electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck.
Tesla is also slowing plans for a Mexico factory, while GM and Honda announced last month that they were ending a $5bn (R93.74bn) plan to develop lower-cost EVs together.
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