In an announcement at the Roosevelt Room in the White House on March 24, the Hyundai Motor Group (HYMTF) , the parent company of brands like Hyundai, Kia, and the Genesis luxury brand, announced a bold $21 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing that it will spend over the next four years to increase its annual production capacity to 1.2 million cars.
The announcement comes very close to an April 2 date that Trump aims to enact levies on cars from Asia and Europe. Already, he has passed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
In the same announcement, President Trump lauded the South Korean automaker’s commitment to American manufacturing, showcasing it as a “clear demonstration that tariffs very strongly work.”
He also confirmed that due to the substantial investment, the Hyundai Motor Group would not be required to pay tariffs on any cars it will import into the States.
“There are no tariffs if you make your product in America,” Trump said at the news conference.
Hyundai’s $6 Billion Korean-American steel bet
The centerpiece of the $21 billion American manufacturing package is a $6 billion steel mill in Louisiana operated by Hyundai Steel that will produce 2.7 million tons of steel each year.
According to Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chairman Euisun Chung, the Hyundai Steel mill is a “key part of this commitment,” adding that the new Louisiana facility would create 1,400 jobs.
In its prepared statement, Hyundai said its steel mill will be efficient, as it will produce “low-carbon steel sheets” from “the abundant supply of steel scrap in the U.S.”
“It will serve as the foundation for a more self-reliant and secure automotive supply chain in the U.S.,” Chung said.
“This will be Hyundai’s first-ever steel mill in the United States, one of the largest companies in the world, by the way, supplying steel for its auto parts and plants in Alabama and Georgia, which will soon produce more than 1 million American-made cars every single year,” Trump added.
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Hyundai is already invested in U.S. production
According to Edmunds data, Hyundai imports 52.3% of the vehicles it sells in the United States from South Korea, including those from the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands.
The automaker has a sizable American footprint, as it operates three vehicle factories in the States: Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama in Montgomery, Alabama, Kia Autoland Georgia in West Point, Georgia, and the Hyundai Motor Group’s Metaplant outside Savannah, Georgia.
Hyundai’s Georgia Metaplant is the newest of the bunch. Opened in October 2024, it has a 300,000-unit annual capacity and capabilities to expand to 500,000 units. Currently, it produces the Hyundai IONIQ 5, and Hyundai plans to add five more EV models across Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis, as well as hybrid versions of their vehicles.
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Hyundai CEO Jose Muñoz has maintained that investing in North America is a critical part of Hyundai’s strategy and that doing so will help it achieve a leadership position.
In a January 2025 interview with Bloomberg, Muñoz noted that Hyundai’s big stateside EV push was not a political move. It was initiated during Trump’s first term as president and intended to help sell in its biggest market.
“Our company took the decision to make significant investment in the USA during the first Trump administration. We haven’t invested in the U.S. because of IRA or because of incentives in general. It is not a good policy to simply make an investment because of incentives, because they can come and go,” Muñoz said.
“We believe the U.S. market is the most important for us today and is going 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 simply because the investment gives us much more flexibility.”
Hyundai Motor is traded under the ticker HYMTF on OTC markets.
