Hyundai Motor Group announced plans to set up an electric vehicle (EV) battery cell production joint venture in the US with partner SK On.
Group affiliates: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation and Hyundai Mobis each approved the plan at their respective board meetings as well. In November 2022, the Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SK On to secure EV battery supply for North America.
The total investment amount for the joint venture is expected to be approximately USD 5 billion, with the Group and SK On each holding a 50 percent stake.
Through the joint venture, both parties plan to establish an EV battery cell plant in Bartow County, Georgia, close to the Group’s U.S. production facilities, including Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Kia Georgia and Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America.
The new plant is expected to start manufacturing battery cells in the second half of 2025 with an annual production capacity of 35 GWh, which is sufficient to support the production of 300,000 EVs. Hyundai Mobis will assemble battery packs using cells from the plant, then supply them to the Group’s U.S. manufacturing facilities for production of Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EV models.
Under the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, for EV purchases to qualify for $3,750 in tax credits they must be assembled in North America and use more than 50 percent of battery components made in the U.S.. Another tax credit of $3,750 requires more than 40 percent of battery materials need to be mined and refined in the US or countries with US free-trade agreements.