Hyundai Motor Group has announced that they had affiliated with several other auto manufacturers such as Ford, GM, and FCA in planning to invest $3.1 billion in U.S. plant in order to head off criticism from President-elect Donald Trump. Chung Jin-Haeng, President of Hyundai Motor, stated on Tuesday that Korea's two largest automakers will increase its investment by 50 percent over the next five years.
The large companies are already planning to build a new factory in the U.S. and might produce Hyundai Motor's upscale Genesis vehicles and a U.S. specific SUV in the country. Trump, on the other hand, has yet to turn his attention to Hyundai-Kia, which already has a new plant located in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, that just started manufacturing cars. But the company mentioned that the decision wasn't made due to the pressure from the President-elect Donald Trump.
Chung said: "We expect a boost in the U.S. economy and increased demand for various models as President-elect Trump follows through on his promise to create one million jobs in five years. We will actively consider introducing new models that have increasing demand and profits."
Nowadays, consumers tastes have changed toward larger cars such as crossovers and trucks, classifications, in which Hyundai is weaker. Hyundai Motor Group America CEO, Dave Zuchowski was fired last month for missing sales target. According to some reports, when the Mexico plant was opened, its aim was to build 400,00 cars per year, but just recently, a company spokesperson said that the numbers were about to change.
The company also said that the investment of $3.1 billion will go toward retooling current factories in the U.S. and assist research for driverless vehicles and other future technologies. In addition, GM, the largest U.S. automakers have plans to announce on Tuesday that it will invest $1 billion in U.S. plants over several years. The company goal is to provide or retain 1,000 jobs at many existing facilities.
Hyundai Motor Group plans is to expand its plant in Montgomery, Alabama, which manufactures the Sonata, Santa Fe crossover, and Elantra sedans. The factory is operating at its top capacity of 370,000 vehicles a year. A company spokesman also confirmed that Hyundai-Kai has no longer plans to invest in Mexico and assured that it will not transfer any production or jobs from U.S. to Mexico.
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