Hyundai Will Rebuild Car Factory In Korea, After 26 Years

Hyundai has rebuilt a car factory in South Korea after a union protest. (photo: twitter @HMGnewsroom)

JAKARTA - Hyundai Motor Co announced on Tuesday, July 12 that it will build a dedicated electric vehicle (EV) factory in South Korea. The plant will be the first auto plant to open in the country in nearly three decades.

The production itself will begin in 2025, the company's union said in a statement. They also convey the promises the company has made in the wage negotiations.

While Hyundai Motor itself did not provide further details in its statement.

In May, Hyundai Motor Group, which houses Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp, said it would invest 63 trillion won (IDR 721 trillion) in South Korea until 2025.

South Korea's Hyundai Motor union voted this month to likely strike for the first time in four years over demands for higher wages. They are also angry at the management for prioritizing overseas investment. One of them is Hyundai investing in the construction of a car factory in Indonesia.

Hyundai Motor, South Korea's largest automaker, last opened a car factory in South Korea in 1996.

But it said in May it would invest $5.5 billion to build a full-fledged EV and battery manufacturing facility in Georgia, USA.

The EV facility in Georgia is scheduled to start in early 2023 and start commercial production in the first half of 2025, according to Hyundai Motor.

"The sale of internal combustion engine vehicles is slated to be banned in certain markets so a new EV plant is critical to Hyundai Motor's survival," said Chang Moon-su, an analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities, a subsidiary of the automaker.