With Hyundai breaking ground on its mammoth $5.5 billion “Metaplant” near Savannah, Georgia, Kia confirmed on Tuesday that it too will have upcoming electric vehicles made at the facility.
That was always a fair assumption, but now it’s a confirmation. As Hyundai announced in May, it plans to make up to 300,000 EVs annually at the Georgia plant, including models from Hyundai and Genesis—and now also, Kia. Batteries are to be made separately, at a corresponding battery venture yet to be detailed. And Hyundai’s companion parts and components arm Hyundai Mobis is reportedly looking for nearby sites.
Kia Concept EV9
Kia already has a facility at West Point, Georgia, that makes Telluride, Sorento, and Sportage SUVs, as well as the K5 sedan. So the new plant will find space for U.S. EV assembly—and, potentially, qualification of the brand’s future EVs under the stricter requirements of the Inflation Reduction Act and its revamped EV tax credit
Production at the Savannah plant f or Kia will start in the first half of 2025. One of the prime candidates for manufacture there is the Hyundai Ioniq 7, as previewed by the Seven concept
2024 Kia EV9 undergoes final testing
As large as the Hyundai plant sounds, it isn’t the largest planned EV plant in Georgia. Rivian aims to make 450,000 electric trucks a year
These are only the latest in a series of decisions that have been casting Georgia as a hub for EV manufacturing. Battery maker SK Innovation is also building dual Georgia battery plants