I Visited Hyundai’s New $7.6 Billion EV Factory in the US — See Inside

Located just 20 miles from the Port of Savannah, one of the busiest in the US, the plant not only gives Hyundai much-needed manufacturing capacity in the US to avoid import tariffs, but it also affords the company the flexibility to export vehicles abroad.

It also gives Hyundai the production footprint to compete against rivals like Tesla, GM, and Rivian, which is also building a new factory in Georgia.

It’s Hyundai Group’s second car factory in the state. The company also operates a $3.2 billion, 2,200-acre facility in West Point, Georgia, that builds Kia EV and ICE SUVs.

The only other model assembled at the plant is the Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV.

Hyundai broke ground on the facility in the fall of 2022 and took just two years to complete construction on the main production buildings.

The Metaplant is a marvel of vertical integration, with the goal of having as many key components, ranging from battery packs to seats, made on-site.

It’s one of 21 emission-free XCIENT trucks deployed around the Metaplant site.

The sheet metal is supplied by the on-site Hyundai Steel facility.

The plant employs almost 300 AGVs to shuttle everything from spare parts to partially assembled cars.

The Metaplant was originally expected to produce up to 300,000 electrified vehicles annually. However, Hyundai announced at the plant’s grand opening in March that its capacity will be expanded to 500,000 units in the coming years as part of a new $21 billion investment in US manufacturing.

The plant is expected to start production of its first Kia model next year.

Here, the stamped metal pieces are welded together by robot to form the body of the vehicle.

The Metplant employees more than 1,300 Meta Pros, nearly 90% of whom were hired locally.

An employee cafeteria with remote ordering capability is located in the main assembly building.

In 2021, Hyundai acquired an 80% stake in Boston Dynamics in a deal that valued the company at $1.1 billion.

Next stop, the paint shop.

After receiving a fresh coat of paint, the vehicles travel through a bridge to the assembly building.

Hyundai Mobis produces the skateboard chassis in a building next door to the general assembly facility. The Metaplant’s on-site battery factory, operated in a joint venture with LG, is expected to come online next year. The plant currently sources its batteries from Hyundai’s other facilities, including one in North Georgia that’s a joint venture with SK.

The further along the production process, the more you see human workers on the assembly line.

The entire facility was immaculately clean, quiet, and felt beautifully choreographed.

These AGVs shuttle the vehicles through the plant’s various quality control tests.

Vehicles destined for dealerships in the region are put on trucks, while those traveling more than 500 miles are shipped by rail at the Metplant’s on-site train terminal.