Hyundai plans to invest $ 5 billion in mobility technology in the United States

Hyundai Motor said on Sunday that it plans to invest $ 5 billion in the United States by 2025 to further develop mobility technologies in areas such as autonomous driving, robotics and AI.

The investment comes with the recent announcement by the automaker of plans to spend $ 5.54 billion to build its first specialized facilities for the production of electric vehicles and batteries in the United States, located outside Savannah, Georgia. This facility is expected to open in the first half of 2025 and is expected to have an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles.

About $ 10 billion in new investment will be used to achieve “Hyundai’s goal of providing sustainable and intelligent mobility solutions,” the company said.

Hyundai aims to be one of the top three suppliers of electric vehicles in the United States by 2026 and is one of several global automakers that are creating new supply chains and manufacturing facilities in America to take advantage of this. which is expected to be a decade before the exponential growth for the category.

The company had previously announced a plan to sell 3.23 million fully electric vehicles worldwide annually by 2030.

It also combines pressure from the Biden administration on companies to set up supply chains for electric vehicles in the United States, not abroad. The administration announced a $ 3.1 billion plan earlier this month to boost local battery production, followed by the president, who cited the Defense Manufacturing Act in April to boost domestic production of minerals needed for production. of batteries for electric vehicles. The White House has set a goal of 50% sales of electric vehicles by 2030.

This newly announced investment by Hyundai will enable it to strengthen its partnership with “public and private legal entities in the United States to offer innovative products and mobility solutions to our valued customers in the United States, while supporting global carbon neutrality efforts.” Chung, executive chairman of Hyundai Motor, said in a statement.

This will include areas such as robotics, advanced air mobility, artificial intelligence and autonomous driving, the company said.

Hyundai Motor bought an 80% stake in robot maker Boston Dynamics from Softbank in December 2020. The company, known for its four-legged dog robot Spot, was valued at $ 1.1 billion. Previously funded by Google, Boston Dynamics began selling its first robot on the market in June 2020.

The carmaker is also imposing driverless technology through Motional, a company formed with US-based mobile technology company Aptive. Motional is currently testing its robotaxi service on public roads in the United States and intends to begin offering commercial services in 2023, one of several efforts to introduce autonomous vehicles on roads across the country.

In November, Hyundai formed Supreme, which aims to develop a family of electric aircraft in the thriving industry for modern air mobility. The company said it plans to launch its first commercial flight in 2028.