South Korean steel group Posco has opened a new factory in Poland to produce electric vehicle motor cores, marking its first such facility in Europe. The plant, located in Brzeg, will begin prototype manufacturing in October and move to full-scale production in December, the company said.
The new facility will supply components for Hyundai and Kia models built in Europe. Kia plans to produce the compact EV4 at its plant in Zilina, Slovakia, while Hyundai will manufacture the Ioniq 3 at its factory in Izmit, Turkey. Both vehicles are based on the 400-volt version of the Hyundai Motor Group’s E-GMP platform.
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Until now, Hyundai and Kia’s E-GMP models sold in Europe were produced in South Korea, supported by a local supply chain in which Posco already played a role. By shifting production to Poland, the supplier will deliver motor cores directly to Hyundai Mobis, which assembles the drive units.
Posco expects the Brzeg facility to produce up to 1.2 million motor cores annually. Under existing agreements, 480,000 units will be supplied to Kia’s Slovakian plant and 550,000 units to Hyundai’s Turkish plant, totaling 1.03 million units over the contract period. The remaining capacity could be allocated to other automakers.
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The move strengthens Posco’s global EV components network, which already includes facilities with annual production capacities of 2.5 million units in South Korea, 3.5 million in Mexico and 300,000 in India. With the addition of the Polish site, the company’s global capacity will reach 7.5 million units per year.
Posco, best known as a steelmaker, has expanded its portfolio into electric mobility, including cathode materials and motor cores, positioning its European production as a “strategic base for the European market for electric vehicles.”
Source: businesskorea.co.kr, koreaittimes.co
