While Others Pull Back, Hyundai's EV Empire Plows Ahead

• Amid industry turmoil surrounding EV demand, Hyundai is pushing forward with its EV production plans, domestically and overseas.

• Marking the one-year anniversary of breaking ground on its Georgia Metaplant, Hyundai says it's on track to begin domestic EV production by 2025.

• The Middle East is set to become an important market for Hyundai, entering a joint venture with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund to build an EV and ICE production facility.

Automakers and analysts alike are raising a white flag of sorts lately. General Motors delays flagship electric products and decries EV demand as waning while Wall Street number crunchers and industry internals nod along in unison. Yes, it is possible that EV demand could plateau in the near future, but Hyundai certainly isn't acting accordingly.

Rather, the Korean automaker is continuing on full steam ahead, as it marks one year since breaking ground on its Savannah, Georgia, Metaplant. With over 2900 acres of land purchased to the tune of $5.5 billion, the ceremonious groundbreaking was the first of many big steps in Hyundai's mission for electric-vehicle market dominance.

The Chatham County facility is slated to be Hyundai's American EV headquarters, with the capacity to produce batteries and vehicles simultaneously.

Hyundai has yet to establish a specific annual energy creation goal, though the automaker is legally tied to employing around 8100 workers and maintaining a phase-one production capacity of 300,000 vehicles.

The facility will be able to ramp up to an annual rate of 500,000 units, though the road to this level of production prowess is long and arduous.

Hyundai executives say everything is running on schedule. With approximately 2000 construction workers on site, 99.9% of all foundation work and 81% of steel framing are complete as of October.

"The site is advancing every day as we work diligently to complete what will be one of the most advanced vehicle assembly and battery plants in the world," said Oscar Kwon, CEO of HMGMA. "We are on track to start production in early 2025, or as my colleague José Muñoz likes to say, 'if not sooner.'"

The US market is not the only market that Hyundai is focused on though. Earlier this week, Hyundai announced a new joint venture with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, aimed at building an EV and ICE vehicle production facility in the Middle East. This would be the first South Korean auto factory in the Middle East, Hyundai said.