Hyundai Announces Plan to Build EV Plant in U.S.

Hyundai will build a new plant in the U.S. exclusively for electric vehicles. The automaker said its first EV plant will be built near Savannah in Georgia.

The decision comes just ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to Seoul this weekend. In fact, the plant was already envisioned as part of the automaker's plans, announced last year, to invest US$7.4 billion by 2025 in expanding production capacity in the U.S.

It is also in line with Biden's ambitious goal to make half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. eco-friendly by 2030.

Hyundai also said it will invest $300 million to retool its existing plant in Alabama to produce hybrids and electric vehicles.

Hyundai sold 322,593 vehicles in the U.S. in the first quarter, ranking fifth among automakers there.