Hyundai to produce hybrid cars at EV-only plant in Georgia

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s top automaker, plans to manufacture hybrid models at its electric vehicle and battery plant in the US state of Georgia as the slowdown in the global EV industry is lasting longer than expected.

“We are investing in facilities to produce hybrid cars at the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America,” said Hyundai Motor Chief Financial Officer Lee Seung Jo at an earnings conference call. The plant is scheduled to start operations in the fourth quarter.

“We also plan to develop a system to apply hybrid (trims) to all models.”

The company aims to raise its hybrid model sales by 28% to 480,000 units worldwide this year.

The move came as the global EV demand is expected to stay weaker for longer than predicted. Its affiliate Kia Corp. said it plans to strengthen its hybrid lineup to lead the global eco-friendly automobile market earlier this month.

LOWER ECO-FRIENDLY CAR SALES

Hyundai said its sales of eco-friendly models including EVs and hybrid cars fell 4.8% to 153,519 units in the first quarter as sluggish EV demand offset the improvement in the hybrid model lineup. Its total global car sales dipped 1.5% to 1 million units in the January-March period.

Its quarterly operating profit fell 2.3% to 3.6 trillion won ($2.6 billion) from a year earlier although its revenue grew 7.6% to a record high of 40.6 billion won.

Hyundai plans to pay dividends of 2,000 won per share for the first quarter, higher than the 1,500 won a year earlier.

“We are considering a value-up program to boost shareholder value,” Lee said, adding the company is set to unveil details after a board of directors’ meeting in the near term.

Write to Jae-Fu Kim at hu@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.