Pivotal November for Korean Car Makers in Georgia Includes Key Anniversary, Two Electric Model Launches

November has proven to be a pivotal month for Korean car makers in Georgia, bringing announcements of two new electric models coming to production lines on opposite sides of the state, as well as a key anniversary for Kia. 

On Nov. 20, the company marked the 15th year of production at its factory in West Point, situated along the border with Alabama, where it has made 4.5 million cars and created 14,000 regional jobs. 

Kia Georgia CEO Stuart Countess praised the plant’s 3,200 workers and credited his team, along with state and community leaders, for the plant’s success.

“From day one, the Kia Georgia team has been focused on world-class quality for our customers while building a culture that is focused on a ‘one system, one team’ philosophy,” Mr. Countess said in a release.  

While Hyundai just recently turned on its massive Meta plant near Savannah, the original Korean OEM has been tooling up in West Point for the next generation of manufacturing with a $217 million in a new electric-vehicle assembly line supported by 200 more workers.

Kia already makes the EV9 three-row SUV there, alongside gas-powered Telluride, Sorento and Sportage. This week, Gov. Brian Kemp announced that the all-electric 2025 EV6 crossover will join the made-in-Georgia lineup. 

The move is the “latest testament to how beneficial our decades-long partnership has been, both for this great job creator and the people of Georgia,” Mr. Kemp said. 

Hyundai, meanwhile, revealed at the AutoMobility show in Los Angeles it would put the 2026 model of the IONIQ 9 three-row SUV at the Meta Plant, just over a month after the sprawling facility near Savannah marked the start of production with the IONIQ 5. See more about the IONIQ 9

“As the only facility to build IONIQ 9s in North America, our Meta Pros will take pride in knowing every time they see the vehicle on the roadway in the U.S. that they took part in it being made,” said Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America CEO Oscar Kwon, using the company’s term for its workers in Georgia.

The models are being introduced amid an uncertain future for electric vehicles in the United States. While Kia and Hyundai have hit sales records, the category has grown more slowly than expected after a wave of federal incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act. 

President-elect Donald Trump has hinted that he will seek to remove the $7,500 purchase tax credit the law uses to incentivize domestic vehicle and battery production and sales, though doing so would require an act of the newly Republican-controlled Congress.