Hyundai Metaplant announces assembly of first electric vehicle

Hyundai’s Savannah-area electronic vehicle manufacturing plant announced last week that initial production has started, putting the Korean company on target to get American-assembled EVs to dealers for sale by the end of the year.

The production milestone would mean that both Hyundai Motor Group and U.S. consumers will be eligible for some of the lucrative tax benefits enshrined in the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act for vehicles made in Ellabell in 2024.

To be eligible for the tax benefits in 2024, vehicles must have had final assembly in North America, and at least 60% of the battery must be assembled in North America, according to the federal government. 

Since construction began in January 2023, Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) and six other Hyundai affiliate factories have risen at a rapid pace from 3,000 acres of clear-cut land just south of I-16. 

The construction boom has come at a cost for those who are building Georgia’s largest economic development project. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has investigated at least 12 traumatic workplace safety incidents at the Ellabell site, and fined at least two companies, including one Hyundai subsidiary, according to previous reporting by The Current that revealed at least 20 traumatic injuries among workers at the manufacturing site which is home to seven Hyundai affiliates and the workplace of dozens of subcontractors. 

The site has seen at least 13 traumatic injuries in the first six months of 2024, according to public documents obtained by The Current. 

The Hyundai companies at the Ellabell site are legally distinct from each other, but together, along with the Korean EV battery manufacturer LG, will work in tandem to produce Hyundai’s electric vehicles at the site.

In exchange for $2.1 billion in state tax deferments, subsidized construction costs, and other perks, the Hyundai affiliates together have promised to invest $5.545 billion and hire at least 8,500 workers by 2031 at an average annual yearly salary of $58,105. Those jobs must be retained until 2048. 

On Thursday, HMGMA celebrated the first locally assembled car, Hyundai’s top-selling IONIQ 5, in an event for some of the approximately 1400 workers at the site that was not open to the media. 

The Georgia State Development Authority, which played a top role in negotiating Hyundai’s move to Georgia, said the event showed the Korean manufacturer’s respect for its workers, according to The Atlanta Journal Constitution. 

Despite fanfare, HMGMA has not announced how many completed cars they expect to build before the end of 2024. It also remains unclear what the status is of the LG battery plant at the Ellabell site and when it will come on line. 

Two significant headwinds are facing the manufacturing facility, which Hyundai says eventually will produce 300,000 EVs per year. 

The water permits Hyundai says are needed for manufacturing have not yet been approved, amid a growing mistrust among residents about the use of this public resource. The Current has reported that consultants hired to secure the permits for more than 6 million gallons of water a day at the plant have no reliable figures or detailed explanations from the Korean manufacturer for its water use estimates.

At the same time, local development authorities have warned that Georgia’s tight labor market may mean that hundreds of Hyundai jobs may go unfilled next year.