The recent announcement made by Governor Samuel Garcia of New Nuevo León, Mexico, regarding a potential billion-dollar investment from Kia to expand its plant in the region and collaborate with Hyundai in producing two electric vehicles (EVs) has attracted considerable attention. This strategic move is aimed at ensuring that both automakers’ EV models meet the criteria for the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credit.
The Hyundai Motor Group, which includes Kia and Genesis, achieved the significant milestone of becoming the third-largest global automaker last year and intends to sustain its momentum in the emerging era of electric vehicles.
Hyundai and Kia have already made a strong entry into the EV market with the successful launch of the IONIQ 5 and EV6 models, both of which are built on the auto group’s dedicated E-GMP electric vehicle platform.
Within the Hyundai umbrella, which encompasses various brands such as the IONIQ 6, Kona Electric, Kia EV9, and Genesis GV70, numerous exciting releases are expected. The automaker has set ambitious goals to be among the top three global EV producers by 2030.
Despite Hyundai’s groundbreaking ceremony for its first dedicated EV plant in the United States in October, operationalization is not projected until 2025. Given that North America represents Hyundai’s largest market, accounting for over one-fifth of its sales last year, the company is actively seeking ways to ensure that its EVs qualify for the tax credit, thus safeguarding its market position.
Governor Samuel Garcia recently shared Kia’s plans via Twitter. In his initial statement, he mentioned that Kia would be investing a billion dollars to expand its plant and produce two new car models in Nuevo León, but later revised the statement. Another retweet from Garcia confirmed the billion-dollar investment, indicating that Kia would establish an additional plant in Nuevo León and collaborate with Hyundai to produce two new electric models.
Governor Garcia’s translated tweet reads, “More good news! Nuevo León solidifies its position as the ELECTROMOBILITY HUB: Kia once again invests in Nuevo León to expand its plant and produce two Kia car models.”
¡Más buenas noticias! Nuevo León se consolida como el HUB DE ELECTROMOVILIDAD: KIA vuelve a apostar por Nuevo León con una inversión para expandir su planta y producir dos modelos de carro KIA. pic.twitter.com/fH6puAZXss
— Samuel García (@samuel_garcias) May 16, 2023
Based on the images shared by Garcia, there is speculation that one of the two electric vehicles could be the flagship EV9 model. However, Kia has already announced that the electric SUV will be manufactured in West Point, Georgia, starting next year, making it the brand’s first EV assembled in the United States.
With this new planned investment, Governor Garcia confidently asserts, “We will become the state that produces the most electric car models: the Tesla model, the Kia model, and the Navistar electric truck.”
The development in Nuevo León holds particular significance as the region is already home to Kia’s existing plant, which has a capacity of 400,000 vehicles and began operations in 2016.
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