The Hyundai Story, Chapter two

On May 20, 2022, Hyundai Motor Group announced they would be building the first fully dedicated electric vehicle (EV) and battery manufacturing facility in the Savannah region. The announcement included $5.545 billion in capital investment and 8,100 new jobs.

The announcement kicked off a flurry of activity that did not slow in 2023.

The Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority (Savannah JDA) was responsible for the first step, preparing the site. Site clearing started in August 2022 and shortly after, the plant, now known as Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA), began to rise from the ground.

Throughout the year, completed areas, known as pads, were turned over to HMGMA with the final site preparation by the Savannah JDA completed in December 2023. As soon as a pad was turned over, HMGMA got to work on construction of the facilities with up to 6,000 people working daily to meet the goal to be in full production in early 2025.

And on Aug. 31, 2023, before they had even broken ground on the battery cell manufacturing joint venture, Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution announced an additional $2 billion in capital investment and another 400 new jobs. 

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said at the time, “In a single year, we broke ground on the largest project in state history, landed multiple suppliers across the state for Hyundai’s Metaplant, and welcomed LGES to Bryan County. Today, we’re building on that success as we continue to make Georgia the e-mobility capital of the nation. These types of major investments ultimately go to hardworking Georgians in the form of paychecks, improved schools and infrastructure, and more. Thank you to Hyundai Motor Group and LGES for again recognizing that the No. 1 state for business is a good investment.”

That brings HMGMA’s total investment to date, to $7.59 billion in capital investment and 8,500 new jobs for the Savannah region.

But the HMGMA story is more than that.  When Hyundai Motor Group announced in 2022, a part of the announcement was the locating of suppliers to the region to be near HMGMA’s main site.

To date, 17 HMGMA suppliers have announced locating in the region with $2.5 billion in capital investment and 6,946 new jobs including Seoyon E-HWA, PHA and Daechang Seat Savannah Corp. who are all locating in the Savannah Chatham Manufacturing Center.

Announced HMGMA Supplier Locations