SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution will build an electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in the United States with a combined investment of $4.3 billion, the companies said on Friday.
Starting construction in the second half of 2023, the Hyundai-LGES plant in Georgia plans to start battery production at the end of 2025 at the earliest.
It will have an annual production capacity of 30 gigawatt-hours (GWh), enough to support the production of 300,000 EVs each year, Hyundai and LG said in their statements.
Hyundai Motor Group, which houses Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Corp, and LGES will hold a 50 percent stake each in the joint venture.
The move follows new U.S. sourcing requirements for EV battery components and critical minerals in order for car buyers to qualify for up to $7,500 in credits under the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Cars made by Hyundai and Kia are currently not eligible for the tax credits.
($1 = 1,320.9300 won)
(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Ed Davies)
