A Hyundai Motor Group supplier on Tuesday announced a new parts factory in Bulloch County, the first supplier to confirm plans to build a facility to support Hyundai’s sprawling $5.54 billion electric vehicle plant near Savannah.
Joon Georgia, a subsidiary of Ajin USA, will build a parts factory at Bruce Yawn Commerce Park near Statesboro, about 30 miles west of the future Hyundai EV plant in neighboring Bryan County. Joon is expected to hire 630 workers at the future $317 million parts factory, according to a news release from Gov. Brian Kemp’s office.
Ajin USA supplies multiple Hyundai plants and makes vehicle body parts and electronics. The company said the new factory will open in 2024.
Late last month, Hyundai broke ground on what it calls its Metaplant America, which it plans to open in 2025 along I-16 about 30 miles west of Savannah. Hyundai has said it plans to assemble 300,000 battery-powered Hyundai, Kia and Genesis vehicles a year in its first phase. That figure could grow to 500,000 units annually and involve several new models, a top executive said Oct. 25.
Hyundai promised to hire 8,100 workers at the EV plant, and state and local leaders have touted Hyundai’s on-site jobs and investment as well as commitments to bring thousands more jobs at suppliers around Georgia as justification for a record-breaking $1.8 billion incentive package.
“Joon Georgia will be the first of many companies drawn to the Peach State to support the Metaplant, creating jobs and opportunity for generations of hardworking Georgians,” Kemp said in the release.
Georgia has positioned itself to be a major player in EVs, also recruiting upstart Rivian, which plans a $5 billion factory about an hour east of Atlanta, where it will employ 7,500.
In remarks during last month’s Hyundai groundbreaking ceremony, Kemp said the state has announced 30 electric mobility-related projects since 2020, totaling more than $13 billion in corporate investments and nearly 19,000 promised jobs.
Incentive packages to Hyundai and Rivian alone total $3.3 billion in tax credits, land, infrastructure, worker training and other perks. In a recent report, left-leaning incentive watchdog Good Jobs First found states and local governments had contributed some $13.8 billion in incentives to land at least 51 EV and electric vehicle battery plants in recent years.
Details about potential incentives for Joon were not immediately released, but the company will likely qualify for various tax credits based on new jobs created and other investments.
Automakers are making company-defining bets on electrification as the Biden administration is pushing aggressive goals to make EVs 50% of all new vehicles sold in the country by 2030.
Sales of EVs today make up a fraction of total U.S. auto sales. But as overall vehicle sales have declined from last year, EVs are surging.
More than 548,000 EVs were sold in the U.S. through the first nine months of this year, up 70% compared to the same period in 2021, according to auto data firm Kelley Blue Book, which like The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is a Cox Enterprises company. EVs made up about 5.4% of all new car sales in the first three quarters of this year, up from 2.7% last year.
States covet auto manufacturing for the potential for spinoff jobs and investment. Hyundai promised its suppliers will invest at least another $1 billion in Georgia. Kia, which opened its first U.S. plant in West Point during the aftermath of the Great Recession, led to dozens of parts facilities locating in Georgia.
“We look forward to partnering with the county and state, and with their assistance, help us make this new endeavor successful for all,” Ajin USA CEO Jung Ho Sea said in the release, adding that the Joon parts plant will be the company’s first in Georgia.
Other supplier announcements could be forthcoming. Parts supplier Hyundai Mobis is said to be scouting sites near the future Hyundai factory as well.
A note of disclosure
Cox Enterprises, owner of the AJC, owns about a 4% stake in Rivian and supplies services to it. Sandy Schwartz, a Cox executive who oversees the AJC, is on Rivian’s board of directors and holds stock personally. He does not take part in the AJC’s coverage of Rivian.
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