Hyundai’s New U.S. Metaplant Has Arrived To Save Its EV Efforts

The Trump administration announced a massive 25-percent tariff on all vehicles assembled outside the United States. In timing that was more than a bit fortuitous, the South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group just celebrated the grand opening of its new Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) production facility in Georgia. It could prove a vital new development for the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands in a time of monumental uncertainty.

Key Takeaways

• Hyundai Motor Group opened its new Georgia Metaplant
• The plant will eventually produce up to 500,000 hybrid and electric vehicles per year
• Hyundai is building the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9 at the plant
• The first Kia vehicle, yet to be named, will start production in 2026
• The timing worked out well as the Trump administration announced 25-percent tariffs

Initial plans called for 300,000 vehicles per year to be built at HMGMA. The announcement noted the intention to expand production to 500,000 cars per year eventually. HMGMA will produce hybrid and electric vehicles for Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.

Hyundai has already announced two EVs that will be produced at HMGMA, its Ioniq 5 crossover and its upcoming Ioniq 9 three-row crossover, coming for the 2026 model year. Kia has not confirmed a vehicle for the facility yet, but Kia will start building at the HMGMA facility in 2026.

It’s not clear whether American politics had any impact here. Hyundai did not have advanced knowledge that Donald Trump would be reelected or that his administration would propose a sweeping 25-percent tariff on all foreign-built automobiles. And Hyundai Group announced the deal to build the plant in Georgia in May 2022, months before the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act passed that incentivized domestic production of EVs.

Regardless of the initial motivation, the Metaplant should leave Hyundai Group well-placed, whether the American political climate is imposing tariffs or offering incentives to sweeten the deal for domestic EV production.

TopSpeed’s Take

It’s hard to predict how tariffs will play out. However, if the tariffs stick in the manner proposed, the Metaplant may save Hyundai and Kia’s present and near-future EV efforts in America. The plant may prove the difference between a vehicle like the World Car Award finalist Kia EV3 coming to America and not.

Combined with other plants in America, HMG brands should have some protection in case of prolonged tariffs. Kia’s KMMG plant in Georgia already manufactures the brand’s three best-selling SUVs (Telluride, Sorento, Sportage) as well as the K5 sedan and the EV9 electric three-row crossover. Hyundai builds its best-selling crossovers, the Tucson and the Santa Fe, along with the Santa Cruz and Genesis Electrified GV70 at its HMMA plant in Alabama.