ELLABELL, Ga. (AP) — The steel skeletons of buildings where Hyundai will stamp, weld, paint and assemble electric vehicles in Georgia span more than a half mile on a sprawling site dotted with so many cranes, bulldozers and construction workers that it almost looks like they’re building a small city.
A year has passed since Hyundai Motor Group broke ground on the $7.6 billion vehicle and battery plant, the South Korean automaker’s first U.S. factory dedicated to producing EVs. Hyundai officials said more than 2,000 people are working each week on the rapidly progressing project west of Savannah, which the company calls its American “metaplant.”
“The site is advancing every day as we work diligently to complete this amazing project,” Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America CEO Oscar Kwon told reporters visiting the site Wednesday. “We are on track to start production in early 2025 — or, as my boss Jose Munoz likes to say, if not sooner.”
Munoz, Hyundai’s president and global chief operating officer, said last month that the company has accelerated construction to take advantage of federal incentives that reward domestic production of EVs. He said it’s possible the plant could open before the end of next year.
Officials at the construction site Wednesday said the foundation work for the factory’s main production buildings is almost finished and the framework of more than 27,000 tons (24,490 metric tons) of steel is more than 80% complete. Some have roofs and floors, and exterior wall panels have begun to go up.
“It’s hard to believe what has occurred in just one year,” said Trip Tollison, president and CEO of the Savannah Area Economic Development Authority, one of the key local agencies that worked with state officials to lure Hyundai to Georgia.
The plant is being built parallel to…
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