Hyundai announced Thursday that it will invest $2.7 billion over the next three years in its plant in the state of Georgia, where an immigration raid recently took place that resulted in the detention and subsequent departure from the United States of more than 300 South Korean workers.
This investment is part of the roadmap to 2030 that the South Korean manufacturer revealed today in a statement, which has among other objectives to increase the production capacity of Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) to 500,000 units by 2028, mainly hybrid and electric vehicles.
Hyundai plans to expand in the US.
“Hyundai Motor aims to produce more than 80 percent of vehicles sold in the U.S. domestically by 2030, and supply chain content will increase from 60 percent to 80 percent,” he added.
The company first reported its U.S. expansion plans last March during the inauguration of its electric vehicle plant in Georgia.
However, this same facility was the site of a raid last September 4.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement(ICE) authorities detained some 475 workers, including more than 300 South Korean nationals.
This raised tensions between the South Korean and U.S. governments.
Defend detained workers
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the detained workers entered the country illegally.
They overstayed their visas or entered on visa waivers that do not allow them to work.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, however, defended that such workers were not going to work long-term in the US.
They were there to install the necessary machinery at Hyundai and return to South Korea as soon as possible.
Hyundai repatriates workers
The detention of the South Koreans prompted a meeting last week in Washington between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun.
Finally, the more than 300 citizens left the country for South Korea in a plane chartered by their country’s government.
The aircraft also carried 14 Chinese and Japanese immigrants, according to the South Korean Foreign Ministry.
The roadmap unveiled today adds that the Hyundai plant in Georgia will produce a combination of 10 hybrid and electric models.
The manufacturer’s goal is to expand global production to 5.6 million vehicles per year by 2030, EFE reported.
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