[New York = E-Daily Seong Joowon Correspondent] HyundaiMotor is considering a plan to expand the annual production capacity of its Meta Plant in Georgia, U.S., from the currently planned 500,000 units to a maximum of 800,000 units. The company explained that the Trump administration’s tariff policies are acting as a catalyst for accelerating the expansion of local production in the U.S.

In an interview with CNBC on the 20th (local time), HyundaiMotor CEO Jose Munoz stated that the company is considering a plan to increase the production capacity of HyundaiMotor Group Meta Plant America (HMGMA) to 700,000–800,000 units annually by 2028.
CEO Muñoz said, “For us, the U.S. is the most important market in the world, excluding South Korea, where our headquarters is located,” adding, “To achieve this, we need to add more production capacity.” He went on to explain, “Our intention is to have all of this up and running by 2028.”
However, following a CNBC report, HyundaiMotor clarified that the production expansion plan is still under review and has not yet been finalized.

500,000 → Up to 800,000… Largest in the U.S. if Confirmed If

the production increase currently under consideration by HyundaiMotor becomes a reality, the Meta Plant’s production capacity will increase by up to 60% compared to the original plan. CNBC reported that with an annual capacity of 700,000 to 800,000 units, it would surpass the plants of Tesla and Toyota to become the largest U.S. automotive assembly plant in terms of production capacity.
This consideration of increased production is part of HyundaiMotor Group’s plan to invest $26 billion (approximately 36.27 trillion won) in the U.S. by 2028. HyundaiMotor has set a goal to produce at least 80% of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. locally by the end of 2030. As of 2024, the proportion of locally produced vehicles stood at about 40%.
In addition to the MetaPlant, HyundaiMotor is also considering further investments to secure production capacity for body-on-frame vehicles, such as trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs). CEO Muñoz did not disclose specific details.

“Tariffs Accelerate Localization”… Pacing Up U.S. Production Expansion

CEO Muñoz directly stated that tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are accelerating the expansion of U.S. production. This means that tariffs such as the 15% duty applied to imports from South Korea are increasing the economic incentive to expand local production.
“Tariffs are helping to accelerate our localization plans. It’s a very simple matter,” he said. “The good thing is that we had already started before the tariffs were announced. In a way, the tariffs are accelerating this process.”
The Georgia Meta Plant has continuously expanded in scale since HyundaiMotor first announced its investment plan in 2022. The current investment total stands at $7.6 billion. Serving as a production hub for electric and hybrid vehicles from HyundaiMotor, Genesis, and KIA CORPORATION, the plant currently manufactures the HyundaiMotor(005380) Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9, as well as the KIA CORPORATION(000270) Sportage Hybrid.
HyundaiMotor Group’s market share in the U.S. has also expanded rapidly. According to Mobility Global, the group’s U.S. market share rose from 8.4% in 2020 to 11.2% last year.
If this plan to increase production is finalized, HyundaiMotor’s U.S. strategy is expected to shift even more rapidly toward significantly increasing the proportion of local production, going beyond simply expanding sales. It is also noteworthy that the Trump administration’s tariffs could serve as a prime example of how they are prompting global automakers to restructure their production bases.