Hyundai to invest $2.7 billion to expand Georgia plant to 500,000 vehicles a year

Hyundai Motor Group on Thursday confirmed it will spend $2.7 billion to expand its Ellabell, Georgia, plant, increasing annual production capacity by 200,000 vehicles to 500,000 over the next three years, as part of a broader push to grow its U.S. footprint even after a U.S. immigration raid complicated the site’s battery ambitions.

The expansion comes amid a broader context of the immigration raid, which led to the temporary delay of a planned electric-vehicle battery plant at the same site. Hyundai Chief Executive José Muñoz said the raid would push the battery facility’s opening back by at least two to three months, with opening now targeted for the first half of 2026.

The company first announced the Ellabell expansion in March at the plant’s grand opening and updated its U.S. investment plans in August with an additional $5 billion for the United States. With the expansion, Hyundai said it would produce 10 models of electric and hybrid vehicles in Georgia, up from the two models the plant has been assembling as it ramps up output. The automaker also reiterated its goal to increase global production to 5.6 million vehicles annually by 2030, with 60% of those vehicles powered by electric or hybrid propulsion. Hyundai said it plans to make more than 80% of the vehicles it sells in the United States domestically by 2030, up from 60%, and to add a mid-sized pickup truck to its U.S. lineup, a vehicle class Hyundai sees as critical in the American market.

Hyundai’s expansion is part of a broader strategy to deepen U.S.-based manufacturing and localization. The company and its joint-venture partner LG Energy Solution previously announced about $12.6 billion in investments at the Georgia site and pledged to hire at least 8,500 workers by the end of 2031. State and local governments have promised roughly $2.1 billion in tax breaks and incentives tied to the Ellabell project. The $2.7 billion add-on is the largest single component of Hyundai’s plan to raise worldwide output by about 1.2 million vehicles a year, including 250,000 more in Pune, India; 200,000 more at Hyundai’s electric-vehicle plant in Ulsan, South Korea; and a further 250,000 vehicles’ worth of parts to be delivered to plants in Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and North Africa.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has sought to reassure investors after the raid, saying his administration remains confident that Georgia’s business climate will win out in terms of foreign investment. He noted he has had constructive conversations with companies operating in Georgia and with White House officials about visa issues affecting foreign workers, and that discussions will continue.

Industry observers say the Ellabell expansion fits Hyundai’s timeline to reach an overall 5.6 million-vehicle annual output by 2030, with a significant share of that mix electric or hybrid. The move also aligns with a broader push to localize supply chains and generate domestic content, a key factor in eligibility for U.S. incentives. The company has signaled a continued emphasis on robotics, with plans to launch extended-range electric vehicles that pair gasoline motors with battery-electric propulsion to extend range beyond 600 miles (about 960 kilometers) by 2027, as part of a strategy to improve efficiency across manufacturing operations.