Kia to produce flagship EV9 at Georgia plant in US from 2024

Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-largest automaker, will manufacture the EV9, its large flagship electric SUV, at its plant in the US state of Georgia from 2024.

At a conference call with analysts on Monday, the automaking unit of Hyundai Motor Group said it will convert part of its Georgia plant to an electric vehicle production line to build the EV9.

The move is Kia’s response to the US Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law in August. From next year, EV makers must use batteries with materials sourced primarily in North America for their cars to be eligible for the US tax credit of up to $7,500 per unit.

Qualifying EVs must contain at least 40% of their battery minerals and 50% of their battery components from those countries. The proportion will rise to 80% for minerals by 2027 and 100% for parts by 2029.

Just like most other US carmakers, including Tesla Inc., Kia will likely receive $3,750 per unit in tax breaks as most carmakers can’t fully meet the requirements on battery minerals and parts.

Kia first gave the world a preview of its newest flagship model in the form of the Kia Concept EV9, unveiled at AutoMobility LA in Los Angeles last year.

The concept EV9 promises to deliver a driving range of 482 km on a single charge. It also features ultra-fast charging technology with a 350-kW charger that allows its powertrain to replenish energy from 10% to 80% in 20-30 minutes, according to Kia.

Like the Kia EV6, a mid-size crossover utility vehicle (CUV) the company unveiled in March last year, the EV9 will also sit on the group’s proprietary Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP).

The E-GMP is an integrated platform that underpins all the electric cars from both Kia and its sister firm Hyundai Motor Co.

HYUNDAI GV70 TO ROLL OUT FROM ALABAMA PLANT THIS MONTH

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor said the company will start producing the Electrified GV70, the latest model under its standalone premium brand Genesis, at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama LLC (HMMA) in Montgomery in December as scheduled.

The company said in April it is spending $300 million to add an electric vehicle production line to its manufacturing plant in Alabama.

The addition of the Electrified GV70 will mark the beginning of Hyundai’s electric vehicle production in the US. The company has so far produced the vehicle at its main plant in Korea and exported them to the North American market.

US SALES SLIDE

The US production comes as Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 3,069 electric cars in the North American market in November, posting a month-on-month sales slide for the sixth straight month.

A Kia official said its weak performance was largely due to fewer shipments to the US market because of reduced supplies of automotive chips from German chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG.

Kia said it keeps its US inventory at a relatively low level of 1.1 months and sales incentives to dealers are also low.

Regarding its Chinese subsidiary, which suffered complete capital erosion in the third quarter, Kia said it plans to expand capital through borrowing without a paid-in capital increase from its head office in Seoul.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.