Hyundai Motor Group is strengthening its push into the US market by adding Kia's (000270.KS) Sportage to production at its American flagship plant, Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA). Kia plans to expand its annual US production to 550,000 units by 2030.
Kia said it held a ceremony on Tuesday local time at the Metaplant in Ellabell, Georgia, to mark the start of Sportage Hybrid production.
HMGMA is a plant Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) Group completed in March last year to target the US market. The Metaplant had been producing Hyundai electric vehicles such as the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9, and this marks the first time a Kia hybrid model has been added there. After the Donald Trump administration scaled back EV support and HMGMA's output fell sharply, the group broadened the plant's product mix with a hybrid model. HMGMA's utilization rate dropped from 65.3% at the end of last year to 38.2% in the first quarter of this year.
Hyundai Motor plans to lift productivity by raising the level of automation at the HMGMA plant. At the ceremony, Hyundai showcased its automation capabilities by using an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) to move the first Sportage produced at the plant onto the stage.
For Kia, HMGMA expands its US manufacturing footprint beyond its existing Georgia plant. Through the two plants, Kia plans to raise its local production capacity to 550,000 units by 2030, more than 57% above the current level of about 350,000 units a year.
"The Metaplant is Kia's second major investment in Georgia, and we highly value Georgia's continued growth potential as a hub of the auto industry," said Yoon Seung-kyu, president of Kia's North American Region and Kia America. "The Sportage Hybrid, whose enhanced model was unveiled last year, is Kia's best-selling model, and we expect production at HMGMA to further strengthen Kia's growth in the United States."
▷ See this newspaper's May 23 edition, Page 11
