Hyundai Motor Group Invests a Boatload in the US

by Jason R. Sakurai

Published: May 13th, 2021

hyundai motor group invests a boatload in the us

Hyundai Motor Group, makers of Hyundai and Kia autos, announced today their intent to invest $7.4 billion in the US by 2025. Electric vehicles, production facilities, and smart mobility is where the money will go.

Putting in the work is one thing, but bringing the cash is another. Hyundai Motor knows that to be competitive in North America, you’ve got to spend like a boss. Electrification and hydrogen top their techno thought processes.

José Muñoz, Hyundai Motor Company’s Global Chief Operating Officer and President and CEO of Hyundai Motor North America said, “I am excited to make this announcement on behalf of the Hyundai Motor Group. This investment demonstrates our commitment to the U.S. market, our dealers and customers.”

“Hyundai will lead the future of mobility in the United States and around the world. Our efforts are proof positive that Hyundai will continue to pursue excellence in our current and future product line-up,” said Muñoz. Today the US, and tomorrow world domination?

Sean Yoon, President and CEO of Kia North America said, “One key element is transitioning from internal combustion engines to electrification.”

So the race is on, and which manufacturer do you think will be the first to electrify themselves? Complete removal of gas engines from their entire lineup.

Hyundai Motor Group is in cahoots with our government and business partners to expand the US hydrogen energy ecosystem. Their commitment to hydrogen will create business opportunities for them and their cohorts.

Hyundai Motor Group and the US Department of Energy are developing hydrogen fuel cell technology, with plans for global expansion. This includes hydrogen refueling station installations, although it is unclear where and when this might occur.

Your tax dollars are being used for HFC technology, with no infrastructure for producing or distributing quantities of hydrogen.

[Images: Hyundai, Kia]

#DepartmentOfEnergy #ElectricVehicles #EVs #HFC #Hydrogen #Hyundai #HyundaiMotor #HyundaiMotorGroup #JoseMunoz #KiaMotors #MoneyTalks #SeanYoon #USGovernment

Jason R. Sakurai

With a father who owned a dealership, I literally grew up in the business. After college, I worked for GM, Nissan and Mazda, writing articles for automotive enthusiast magazines as a side gig. I discovered you could make a living selling ad space at Four Wheeler magazine, before I moved on to selling TV for the National Hot Rod Association. After that, I started Roadhouse, a marketing, advertising and PR firm dedicated to the automotive, outdoor/apparel, and entertainment industries. Through the years, I continued writing, shooting, and editing. It keep things interesting.

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7 of 12 comments

Conundrum on May 14, 2021

Darned if I get this Sakurai fellow. Tortured English that barely gets the idea across, and obviously about zero experience in actually driving cars or having the first clue about them. No historical knowledge, but that's shared by the editor who tells us it's hard to keep up! What is your job about, anyway? If facts and knowledge matter so little and your audience knows more than you do, what's the point of being here? You can hardly deliver a reasoned view from an adult overall perspective on the industry, or judge the way the industry is reacting to social change from such limited knowledge. I can rewrite car company press releases with the best of them in about 20 minutes without lifting sentences direct. And make appropriate snide comments that actually hit home. The useless carping here on the VW April Fools joke was an attempt to create a mountain out of a molehill, for example. Much like past faux "outrages" Mr Editor Healey gets his knickers in a knot about. Soppy drivel don't impress me much. I come back each day to see how bad it's become, that's my entertainment. Basement nutter comments from doughheads give me a laugh. People with a clue about cars read Hagerty where some sign of sentient life appears regularly. The rest of the car review industry seems to be drowning in its own ennui. And save me from lugubrious You Tube "reviews" that take an age to get anywhere conclusive as if their audience was composed of dull four year olds who need constant repetition, or which feature people who think they're ace and run stupid comaparos. My attention span for people who cannot get to the point is not long, yet good text accomplishes that in a few minutes read, not half an hour of self-aggrandizing dull video balderdash. Trouble is, there appears to be no realization of the sorry state of affairs, and society looks set to be satisfied with D+ level commentary. Where's the enthusiasm for more than mediocre? It died as social media reduced the brains of people to puree, apparently.

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- Wolfwagen on May 14, 2021
  
  Wow. Dont hold back Tell us how you really feel. BTW I totally agree with your last paragraph.
  
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Wolfwagen on May 14, 2021

"Your tax dollars are being used for HFC technology, with no infrastructure for producing or distributing quantities of hydrogen." What's your point Jason? My tax dollars are going to a lot of crap that I see no benefit from either. - Welfare - Useless studies - like the mating habits of the blue specked ass gnat - Overspending for simple items and mega overspending for more complex items - Money spent on organizations and groups that offer no value to anyone - Money given to foreign countries that hate us I could go on and on but I think you get my point.

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- Bd2 on May 14, 2021
  
  ^ Don't forget abstinence-only "sex education." US automakers are behind the Chinese when it comes to BEVs, and China has pivoted a bit towards HFC. Maybe not for daily commuters in the near future, but HFC tech could very well be the future of the commercial trucking and busing industries. We don't want to have to rely on China for that as well, do we?
  
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- Inside Looking Out on May 14, 2021
  
  "mating habits of the blue specked ass gnat" That is very important for the future of this nation. Besides Hunter has a personal interest in this studies.
  
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- RHD on May 16, 2021
  
  @Inside Looking Out That money would be better spent on remedial English for TTAC comments posters.
  
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- Mcs on May 16, 2021
  
  @bd2 HFC has no advantage over BEV at this point. Range and fueling time should both be better with a BEV. Batter density is improving. A truck can do multiport charging to improve charging times (take a look at photos of the Tesla semi). Hydrogen fueling still has to deal with station depressurization times. Besides, are they really going to allow a semi with the amount of 10,000 PSI tanks it would need in tunnels?
  
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