- Hyundai’s localization strategy aims to mitigate future policy changes and tariffs.
- The brand is investing $12.6 billion to build EVs and hybrids in the United States.
- CEO Jose Munoz emphasizes the importance of long-term investment strategies.
With hefty US tariffs looming large across most of the automotive industry, many carmakers have to work out the best way to minimize the impacts. Some, like Honda, are reportedly planning to move some production from Mexico into the US. Others, like Hyundai, appear to be ahead of the game and aren’t overly concerned with Trump’s next moves.
Read: Hyundai’s New CEO Says Musk-Trump Friendship Is A “Positive” For All Carmakers
During the first Trump administration, the Hyundai Motor Group decided to make huge EV investments in the United States, and this decision could now start to pay dividends. While speaking during the company’s recent annual general meeting in South Korea, chief executive Jose Munoz confirmed the brand’s “localization strategy” will “help mitigate the impact of any potential policy change.”
Hyundai’s Bet Pays Off
This was the first time Munoz spoke at a Hyundai shareholder meeting since taking the top job at the firm on January 1, Bloomberg reports. His sentiment mimicked statements he made just days after starting as CEO, where he said the relationship between President Trump and Elon Musk “should be positive for the industry.”
Late last year, Hyundai started building the all-electric Ioniq 5 at its massive ‘Metaplant’ west of Savannah, Georgia, roughly two years after breaking ground at the site. This plant will handle the production of five other EVs from the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands. Not only that but in May last year, Munoz revealed the plant would be adapted to also build hybrid vehicles.
A $12.6 Billion Gamble
Hyundai is investing roughly $12.6 billion into electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facilities across Georgia. While speaking about these investments earlier in the year, Munoz confirmed they were not made because of the Inflation Reduction Act under President Biden, nor because of any other incentives.
“It’s not a good policy to just simply make an investment because of the incentives, because they can come and go,” he said. “We believe the US market is the most important for us today and it’s going to continue to be the most important in terms of not only the absolute but also the growth and therefore, investing and localizing is a good strategy. I think we are in a better place today than we were four or five years ago.”
