Hyundai Motor Group’s first electric vehicle-exclusive factory, Kia Autoland Gwangmyeong Plant 2, is now entering the testing phase. Despite a slowdown in new EV demand due to high inflation, interest rates, and reduced subsidies globally, Hyundai Motor Group remains committed to advancing its electrification investments without interruption as it aims to break through the current demand stagnation.

Kia announced on Wednesday that it recently commenced trial operations to produce its compact EV, the EV3, at the Gwangmyeong Plant 2.

The plant resumed operations after an 8-month hiatus after transforming into an EV-exclusive facility, with the plant halting production to undergo facility upgrades and production line modifications in June 2023.

Once the trial operations at Gwangmyeong Plant 2 are completed, Kia plans to start mass production of the EV3 from June 2024 onwards. The EV3 is a compact electric crossover utility vehicle based on Hyundai Motor Group’s dedicated EV platform, E-GMP.

The EV3 holds a pivotal role in Kia’s EV popularization strategy, with preparations underway to launch three mass-market vehicles (EV3, EV4, and EV5) globally. Among them, the EV3 is considered a “must-succeed model” by Kia.

The significance of the plant operation lies in Hyundai Motor Group’s initiation of the EV-exclusive factory era. Currently, vehicles such as Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6, EV6, and EV9 are produced together with internal combustion engine cars in factories. Gwangmyeong Plant 2 is a case where an existing internal combustion engine car plant has been converted into a facility producing EVs exclusively.

Hyundai Motor Group will also begin operating a new EV-exclusive plant designed from the planning stage in the second half of 2024. Currently under construction in Georgia, the United States, the Hyundai Motor Group Meta Plant America (HMGMA) will start producing EVs for Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis from the fourth quarter of the year.

The new plant aims to maximize automation from logistics to production and incorporates advanced manufacturing technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital twin.

The new Kia Autoland Hwaseong plant exclusively for PBVs (Purpose-Built Vehicles), which broke ground in March 2023, is scheduled to begin mass production from the third quarter of 2025. Hyundai Motor’s Ulsan EV new plant, which started construction in November last year, is set to commence production in the first quarter of 2026.

Despite slow sales in the EV market, Hyundai Motor Group remains steadfast in its electrification transition plans. In contrast to some U.S. automakers including GM and Ford that are subtly scaling back or postponing EV investments due to intensified price competition, Hyundai Motor Group presented an unaltered combined EV sales target of 3.64 million units by 2030 during the previous year.

By Moon Gwang-min and Minu Kim

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