Hyundai Motor has commenced production of an electric vehicle (EV) in the US in response to the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which allows no subsidies for imported EVs.
Already, the South Korean carmaker has assembled the Genesis GV70 SUV in its Alabama plant as part of measures to receive government subsidies for EV purchases by local customers.
The GV70 is the first all-electric model produced by Hyundai Motor and under the independent Genesis brand in the Alabama plant.
The IRA, signed into law by US President Joe Biden in August, gives up to $7,500 in tax credits to buyers of electric vehicles assembled only in North America, sparking concerns that Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia could lose ground in the US market, as they make EVs at domestic plants for export to the US.
The EV production in Alabama comes before Hyundai Motor Group kicks off the construction of its dedicated EV plant in the world`s most important automobile market.
In May last year, Hyundai Motor Group announced it will invest $5.54 billion to build an EV and car battery manufacturing plant in Georgia as part of its electrification push.
The group plans to start construction on the 300,000-unit-a-year EV and battery plant in Georgia in the first half of this year, and begin production in the first half of 2025.
