Hyundai plans $7B new US plant: report
The South Korean carmaker says it will announce the location 'soon'
As gas prices drive demand for electric vehicles, supply chain issues remain
Park West Mobility Service hasn't seen this much demand for electric vehicles in at least five years. Rising fuel prices are driving the market for electric vehicles.
Hyundai Motor Group will announce plans next week to build a $7 billion electric vehicle plant outside Savannah, Georgia, a U.S. official speaking on the condition of anonymity told the Associated Press.
The official said the South Korean automaker is expected to make the formal announcement during President Biden's scheduled May 20-21 visit to Seoul. Hyundai is not revealing any details yet, though, saying in a statement that the company "will announce the location of our new US EV plant soon."
The Hyundai logo is seen outside a Hyundai car dealer in Golden, Colo, Nov. 3, 2014. (REUTERS/Rick Wilking / Reuters Photos)
Reuters first reported that Hyundai was looking to build its new plant in Georgia.
People familiar with Georgia's talks with Hyundai told The Atlanta-Journal Constitution that the massive new facility will bring as many as 8,500 jobs and be built on a 2,200-acre site near the community of Ellabell, roughly 25 miles north of Savannah in Bryan County.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's office declined to comment on the report, but a source familiar told FOX Business the governor will be in Bryan County May 20 for a number of events, including an economic development announcement.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Mason Mega Rail Station at the Garden City Port Terminal Nov. 12, 2021, in Garden City, Ga. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images / Getty Images)
"There was a reason I made my first economic development trip to South Korea and visited with great companies like Kia and Hyundai and a lot of others," the governor said Monday. "We've got a great partnership with them and a lot of other South Korean companies, and we have for a long time."
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The Hyundai deal will be the second massive electric vehicle plant announced for Georgia in less than a year, after Rivian Automotive unveiled plans in December to build a $5 billion plant outside Atlanta that is expected to employ 7,500.
Gov. Brian Kemp walks past a Rivian electric truck Dec. 16, 2021, in Atlanta after announcing that electric truck maker Rivian Automotive will build a $5 billion battery and assembly plant east of Atlanta projected to employ 7,500 workers. (AP / AP Images)
The timing of the announcement could also serve as a boost to Kemp ahead of the May 24 primary election, where he faces challenges from multiple fellow Republicans, including former Sen. David Perdue, who is endorsed by former President Trump.
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Kemp has a healthy lead in the polls and is endorsed by former Vice President Mike Pence.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.