Hyundai Motor is contemplating increasing the annual output of its Georgia assemblyانہوں plant from 500,000 vehicles to a projected 700,000–800,000 units by 2028, CEO José Muñoz informed CNBC on Thursday. The company noted that the expansion remains under review and has not yet been finalized.
If the plant reaches the upper end of that range, the Georgia Metaplant would surpass competitors—including Tesla and Toyota Motor—in terms of U.S. vehicle assembly capacity.
Muñoz said President Donald Trump’s tariffs, including a 15 % duty on imports from South Korea, have accelerated the company’s localization strategy. “Tariffs are helping accelerate our localization plan. That’s very, very simple,” he said. “The good thing is that we had already started before tariffs were announced, so in a way they’re helping us move faster.”
Any expansion would be funded through Hyundai’s already-announced $26 billion U.S. investment commitment through 2028. The automaker has targeted an 80 % domestic production share of its U.S. sales by 2030, up from roughly 40 % in 2024, and Muñoz noted that additional capacity is required to meet this goal.
The $7.6 billion Metaplant—first announced in 2022—currently assembles the all‑electric Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9 models, along with the Kia Sportage hybrid. The plant is designed for the production of hybrid and fully electric vehicles under the Hyundai, Genesis, and Kia brands. Under the current 500,000‑unit framework, the Georgia campus employs more than 8,500 people directly, with an additional 6,900 jobs created at nearby supplier facilities.
Hyundai is also exploring further investment in body‑on‑frame vehicles, such as trucks and SUVs, at a location separate from the Georgia plant, though Muñoz declined to provide further details.
Muñoz, the company’s first non‑Korean CEO, underscored the importance of the U.S. market in Hyundai’s global strategy. “The U.S. is our most significant market in the world after Korea, our headquarters,” he said. Hyundai’s U.S. market share grew from 8.4 % in 2020 to 11 ýa % last year, according to CNBC, citing data from Mobility Global.