Hyundai Motor Plans To Invest $21 Billion in US

Last month, South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group announced that it will invest $21 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. In addition to investing $6 billion to build a steel mill in Louisiana, the company will increase its U.S. auto production capacity by 70% to 1.2 million vehicles per year at a cost of $9 billion

The $21 billion investment in the U.S. will be the largest ever made by the Hyundai Motor Group. The investment will be made between 2025 and 2028 and will cover a wide range of fields, including automobiles, steel, parts and energy.

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Kia To Double Hybrid Sales Amid EV Headwinds

SOUTH KOREA REPORT

Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group is going on the offensive with hybrid vehicles. Its subsidiary Kia plans to introduce HV models in nine of its main models, doubling its current sales volume to 800,000 units by 2028. Kia will temporarily review its investment focus on EVs, where competition is heating up globally, to flexibly respond to market trends.

In early April, Kia’s CEO showed signs of impatience at a business strategy meeting in Seoul, admitting that the EV market is slowing down and pushing back the goal of surpassing sales of 1 million EV units by 2026 to 2027.

At the same time, he announced the expansion of HVs: by 2028, he will introduce HVs in nine major models worldwide, increasing HV sales from 372,000 units (12% of the total) in 2024 to 800,000 units (19%).

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South Korea Plans World’s Largest Semiconductor Manufacturing Base

SOUTH KOREA REPORT
Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

The South Korean government announced a plan for a semiconductor industrial park in which Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will invest a total of 622 trillion won (approx. $470 Billion). With Japan and Taiwan aggressively investing in the semiconductor industry, the government aims to compete with them by establishing the world’s largest base and stabilizing the supply of semiconductors to Korea.

According to the plan announced by the government, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix plan to invest 500 trillion won and 122 trillion won, respectively, by 2047. In addition to the existing 21 factories, 13 new semiconductor factories and 3 research facilities will be built. The semiconductor industrial park, which stretches from Pyeongtaek to Yongming, is expected to become the world’s largest manufacturing base with a monthly production capacity of 7.7 million wafers by 2030.

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Hyundai Shifts EV Plans, Introduces Genesis Hybrid

SOUTH KOREA REPORT

Hyundai Motor Company is developing a hybrid vehicle for its Genesis luxury brand. The company had planned to focus on EVs and FCVs for the Genesis, which will be launched after 2025. The recent slowdown in the growth of the EV market has forced the company to change its strategy.

According to industry insiders, Hyundai Motor is developing a hybrid engine and related systems for the Genesis, which is expected to be launched in 2025. Hybrid models will be added to the mainstream GV80 and GV70 models. The company plans to expand its HV lineup under the Hyundai Motor and Kia brands as well, having decided to introduce HVs under its luxury car brands due to the risk of slumping sales if it continues to shift more toward EVs. Hyundai Motor’s HV sales in 2023 were up 53% from the previous year to approximately 380,000 units.

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Hyundai Motor Sells Chongqing Plant in China

SOUTH KOREA REPORT

The company sold the plant to Chongqing Liangjiang New Area Yufu Industrial Park Construction and Investment Group, which is owned by the city of Chongqing, and its affiliate will use the plant as a production base for electric vehicles.

Hyundai Motor Company has sold its finished car plant in Chongqing, China, to a Chongqing government-owned company for 1.62 billion yuan (about 33 billion yen, $222 million) in December 2023. Hyundai Motor is rushing to restructure its Chinese business, which has suffered from sluggish sales, and concentrate its management resources in the U.S. and Southeast Asia.

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Hyundai Motor, Apple May Partner on Self-Driving EVs

FAR EAST: SOUTH KOREA REPORT
Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Company and Apple Inc. plan to set up a partnership in the field of self-driving electric cars, according to Korea IT News. And recently another media outlet reported that Hyundai Motor and Apple plan to launch a self-driving EV in 2027.

In response to this news, Hyundai Motor announced that it was in early-stage talks with Apple. On Dec. 10, Hyundai Motor declined to comment on the Korea IT News report, reiterating its statement from Dec. 8 that it had received inquiries from various companies interested in collaborating on the development of self-driving EVs. Apple was not available for comment at the time of our publication.

Source: REUTERS

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