Georgia’s Kemp racks up electric vehicle win

Hyundai to invest Us$5.5bil to build assembly plant

“If Georgia did not incentivise the project, we would not be sitting here today. It’s a very competitive market, with a premium on job creation in every state.” Pat Wilson

DETROIT: Georgia governor Brian Kemp has announced another electric-vehicle (EV) mega-deal ahead of his primary tomorrow: Hyundai Motor Co is investing Us$5.5bil (Rm24bil) to build an EV assembly and battery plant near the port city of Savannah.

The South Korean automaker expects to create 8,100 new jobs with the twin plants, and will break ground early next year, the company said in a statement.

Hyundai’s first dedicated EV assembly plant will start production in 2025, with an annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles.

Hyundai said it will disclose its “strategic partner” for the battery plant at a later date.

Kemp has been racking up automotive wins for the Peach State, and handing out hefty incentives to win them.

Last December, electric truck startup Rivian Automotive Inc said it would build a Us$5bil (Rm22bil) EV plant near Atlanta that will eventually employ 7,500 people.

South Korean battery maker SK Innovation Co has constructed a Us$2.6bil (Rm11bil) factory in east Georgia to make power sources for EVS, including Ford’s F-150 Lightning pickup.

“The future of transportation is in the Peach State,” Kemp said in a statement Friday.

The Hyundai plant is “delivering high-quality jobs on the leading edge of mobility to hardworking Georgians”.

The announcement of the investments by the South Korean companies comes as United States president Joe Biden is in South Korea for a five-day economic mission to Asia.

Incentives for the project are still being negotiated and will be disclosed at a later date, said Pat Wilson, Georgia’s commissioner of economic development.

He said incentives were a necessary tool to win jobs as states fight over EV projects.

“If Georgia did not incentivise the project, we would not be sitting here today,” he said in a phone interview.

“It’s a very competitive market, with a premium on job creation in every state.”

In the state’s closely watched Republican gubernatorial primary tomorrow, incumbent Kemp is pitted against David Perdue, who is backed by former president Donald Trump.

Not everyone has been happy with Kemp’s economic development agenda.

Some residents living near the Rivian site in Rutledge, about 45 minutes east of Atlanta, have pushed back against the project.

They cited concerns about traffic, environmental damage and continued urban sprawl, among others.

Perdue, a former US senator from the state, has sided with local activists complaining about the Rivian plant. Hyundai Motor Group, which owns both the Hyundai and Kia car brands, pledged in 2021 to invest billions in the United States by 2025, a commitment that covers EV plants, hydrogen refuelling stations and unmanned flying taxis.

The Georgia project is part of that plan. Hyundai sales in the United States have increased since the company transformed its fleet to meet Americans’ demand for sport utility vehicles or SUVS.

It set a US retail sales record in the first quarter after increasing deliveries nearly 20% in 2021.

The company said in April it will spend Us$300mil (Rm1.3bil) to expand its assembly plant in Montgomery, Alabama, to make a hybrid version of the Santa Fe crossover and an EV for its luxury Genesis brand, the GV70, this fall.

Hyundai Motor Group will produce “a wide range of full EVS for US customers” at the new Georgia plant, the company said, without giving further details.