Reports: Hyundai to announce $7B factory in Georgia during Biden’s visit to South Korea

Hyundai is expected to announce that it will build a massive electric vehicle plant near Savannah, Georgia, according to reports.

>> Read more trending news

According to The Savannah Morning News and The Associated Press, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to announce a Kia Motors assembly plant on a 2,284-acre site in Bryan County late next week.

The announcement by the South Korean automaker will coincide with President Joe Biden’s trip to South Korea next week during his first trip to the Far East during his administration, the AP reported.

Savannah-area economic development officials declined to comment to the Morning News. Contacted via text message on Monday morning, Trip Tollison of the Savannah Economic Development Authority wrote, “We don’t comment on speculation.”

The plant could grow to employ 8,500 workers on the site that state and local governments own near the town of Ellabell, the AP reported.

The Savannah Economic Development Authority and economic development agencies in Bulloch, Bryan and Effingham counties are part of the Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority, the Morning News reported. The organizations partnered with the state to buy the megasite in 2021 for $61 million. The property is located along Interstate 16 off the U.S. 280 exit, 23 miles west of downtown Savannah, according to the newspaper.

“We are excited to announce a new EV plant plan in the United States soon, but we do not have details to share at this stage,” Hyundai Motor Group said in a statement, which was first reported by Reuters.

The factory would be the second large electric vehicle plant announced in Georgia in less than a year, according to the AP. In December, Rivian Automotive announced it would build a $5 billion, 7,500-job electric truck plant about 45 miles east of Atlanta near the city of Commerce in Jackson County.

©2022 Cox Media Group