Hyundai is investing $ 5.5 billion in the production of EVs and batteries in Georgia

Hyundai Motor on Friday confirmed plans to spend $ 5.54 billion to set up the first specialty plant for the production of electric vehicles and batteries in the United States.

The plants will be located outside Savannah, Georgia, in Brian County, the company said. Production is expected to open in the first half of 2025 with an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles, according to the South Korean automaker. It is expected that the operations will create about 8,100 new jobs.

The investment is the latest example of a global automaker looking to create new supply chains and manufacturing facilities in the U.S. to produce electric vehicles that are expected to grow exponentially over the course of this decade.

It is also a great victory for the Biden administration, which has urged companies to set up supply and production chains for electric vehicles in the US rather than abroad. Last year, President Joe Biden set the goal that by 2030, EVs would account for half of all new car sales in the United States.

“The group is accelerating its electrification efforts with the global goal of selling 3.23 million complete electric vehicles annually by 2030,” Hyundai said in a release.

Hyundai also said it expects to produce “a wide range of complete electric vehicles for U.S. customers at the new Georgia EV plant,” noting that more details will come later.

The company announced plans, details of which were announced earlier, following the formal conclusion of an agreement with Georgia. State and local incentives and other details for the new facilities were not reported.

Hyundai said it chose Georgia “because of a number of favorable conditions for doing business, including market speed, a talented workforce, and an existing network … of branches and suppliers.”