A South Korean auto manufacturer is boosting its investment in the U.S. after the nation’s leader met with President Donald Trump Monday.
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Hyundai Motors now plans to spend $26B in the U.S. between this year and 2028, up $5B from its previous commitment, according to a press release.
Most of that will go into a new robotics plant, a Hyundai executive told The Korea Herald. The company plans to build a facility focused on design, manufacturing and testing with an annual capacity of 30,000 units.
Hyundai acquired Massachusetts-based Boston Robotics in 2021 and co-founded driverless vehicle company Motional alongside Irish firm Aptiv a year earlier.
The auto manufacturer is also planning a new steel mill in Louisiana. The price tag for that project is $5B, CNBC reported in March.
It will be relatively close to the company’s two existing manufacturing plants in Montgomery, Alabama, and Savannah, Georgia.
Hyundai is looking to boost its U.S. vehicle production beyond last year’s 700,000 units as it adjusts to the Trump administration’s trade policy.
The previous 25% tariff on South Korean imports was lowered to 15% on Aug. 1. Trump confirmed that the tariff would remain in place despite what was broadly seen as a positive meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Politico reported.
Hyundai’s $26B commitment through 2028 outpaces the $20.5B the company has invested in the U.S. since entering the nation in 1986.
Honda, a Japanese auto maker, has also raced to bolster its U.S. operations amid the evolving tariff landscape.
That included moving production of its Civic hybrid vehicles from Mexico to an Indiana facility in March.
“Tariffs, it's a beautiful word isn’t it, that along with our other policies will allow our auto industry to absolutely boom,” Trump said in an address to Congress at the time.
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