Hyundai reveals ambitious $50 billion investment to expand EV sales

Hyundai announced a huge investment of $50 billion (68 trillion won) to secure its position as the car market shifts to electric vehicles. The South Korean automaker plans to hire 80,000 people in the country to become a top three EV maker by 2030.

Hyundai plans to invest $50 billion on the back of EV shift

Hyundai’s new investment is to “secure future growth engines” such as EV technology and software-defined vehicles (SDV).

More than half of the investment (35.5 trillion won/$26 billion) will be used for research, development and manufacturing of EV infrastructure, giving the company “monopoly over core technologies.” An additional 31.1 trillion won will be used for research and development of EV, SDV, and battery technology.

Hyundai also plans to use the funds to expand dedicated EV factories, IT capabilities and co-investments in related companies.

The company will first make a “large-scale investment” in a new factory dedicated to EVs. In the second quarter, Kia’s EV factory in Gwangmyeong will be completed and Kia’s affordable EV3 will go on sale in South Korea and overseas.

Kia Motors’ Hwaseong EV plant will begin producing custom PBV electric vehicles in the second half of 2025.

Hyundai’s new Ulsan EV plant will start producing the “super-large” Genesis electric SUV in the first quarter of 2026. Once the factory is operational, it is expected to produce 200,000 EVs a year.

Earlier this week, Genesis unveiled its first full-size luxury electric SUV, the Neolun Concept. This sleek electric SUV serves as a beacon of Hyundai technology.

Hyundai’s luxury brand also announced Magma, a new high-performance brand that rivals Mercedes-AMG.

The South Korean automaker, currently the world’s third-largest automaker (including Kia and Genesis), aims to become one of the top three EV makers by 2030.

By then, Hyundai plans to have a fleet of 31 electric vehicles with an annual domestic EV production capacity of 1.51 million units. Hyundai has already seen success with its dedicated EV platform (E-GMP), which underpins the IONIQ 5, IONIQ 6, Kia EV6, and Genesis GV60.

Hyundai plans to unveil its first three-row electric SUV, the IONIQ 9, later this year. Prior to its debut, we were able to get a glimpse of the EV’s public test.