The announcement by the firms formalises an earlier tentative deal and involves Hyundai and its partner SK On, a battery division of SK Innovation Co. Ltd., who will establish a new battery production facility in the state of Georgia.
Hyundai Motors Co. of South Korea announced on Tuesday that it had completed a $5 billion joint venture for electric vehicle (EV) batteries in the United States as it revealed that its first-quarter net profit had more than doubled, exceeding forecasts.
In a formalization of an earlier preliminary agreement, Hyundai Motors, and partner SK On, a battery company of SK Innovation Co. Ltd., announced plans to build a new battery production facility in the state of Georgia.
The action complies with current U.S. regulations that stipulate that in order for car customers to be eligible for a $3,750 credit, 50% of the value of Electric Vehicles’ battery components must be produced or built in North America. The greatest sales market for Hyundai Motors is the United States.
In the second half of 2025, the new facility is anticipated to begin producing battery cells with a 35 GWh annual production capacity, which is enough to enable the production of 300,000 EVs.
As the global chip shortage eased and demand for Hyundai’s high-margin sport-utility vehicles remained robust, the company posted a net profit of 3.3 trillion won ($2.47 billion) for the January-March period, as opposed to 1.6 trillion won a year earlier. This was made possible by an increase in vehicle output. As a result, shares rose as much as 3.4% after the results were announced, reversing earlier losses. This was in contrast to a Refinitiv SmartEstimate for first-quarter earnings of 2.3 trillion won from 16 analysts.
The first quarter of 2023’s financial results were released today by Hyundai Motors Company. Revenue surged by 24.7 percent year over year to KRW 37.78 trillion in the first quarter, while operating profit increased by 86.3 percent year over year to KRW 3.59 trillion, a record quarterly amount.
The company is now on track to reach its annual projection for 2023 thanks to an increase in net profit (including non-controlling interest) of 92.4 percent to KRW 3.42 trillion.
In the months of January through March, Hyundai Motor sold 1,021,712 units globally, up 13.2 percent from the same time last year. 830,665 units were sold in markets outside of Korea, a 10.7 percent increase, while 191,047 units were sold in Korea, a 25.6 percent increase. The increase in manufacturing as chip and component supplies stabilised globally was primarily responsible for the good sales.
Despite the unfavorable economic climate, the total sales growth, particularly for SUV and luxury Genesis models, as well as favorable exchange rates, helped raise revenue in the first quarter. Additionally, Hyundai Motor sold nearly 66,000 electric vehicle (EV) models during the same time frame, up 48 percent from the same period last year.
