Hyundai rushing to open Georgia plant because of law rewarding domestic electric vehicle production

Hyundai is accelerating electric-vehicle and battery production at a $7.6 billion complex on Georgia’s coast, citing federal incentives that reward domestic manufacturing. Speaking in Atlanta, Hyundai President and Global COO Jose Munoz said the company is trying to begin production in Georgia sometime in 2024, after previously targeting January 2025. The remarks followed Hyundai’s partnership signing with Georgia Tech to strengthen research into hydrogen-fueled vehicles and train workers. Munoz said Hyundai has complained the Inflation Reduction Act is unfair to companies importing batteries or EVs from outside North America, even though dealers can apply credits to leased EVs regardless of where they’re built. Hyundai and LG Energy Solution recently added $2 billion more investment and plan to hire 400 more workers, raising employment to 8,500, to support batteries for the planned 300,000 vehicles.