Right now, if you want a Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric hatchback, the car is built in Asia before it's shipped across the ocean and trucked to your local dealership. But in the coming years, Hyundai will take the overseas travel out of the equation.

Hyundai last week announced that it will build facilities in Georgia dedicated to the manufacture of both electric vehicles and EV batteries. The plans represent a roughly $5.5 billion investment in Georgia's Bryan County. The automaker will establish itself on 2,923 acres, with quick access to interstates and the Port of Savannah. Hyundai estimates this manufacturing foothold will create approximately 8,100 jobs.

Hyundai hopes to have the plant online in the first half of 2025, with groundbreaking scheduled for early 2023. At full clip, the facility is estimated to produce some 300,000 units per year, which is just 40,000 units shy of what sister company Kia is producing at its own factory in Georgia. The automaker did not say what models will be built in Georgia, just that it hopes to produce a "wide range of fully electric vehicles" there.

"As one of the world's most successful and advanced mobility leaders, we are incredibly proud to share our plan to open our first dedicated full EV and battery manufacturing facilities in the US," said Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung in a statement. "The U.S. has always held an important place in the Group's global strategy, and we are excited to partner with the State of Georgia to achieve our shared goal of electrified mobility and sustainability in the U.S."

The Korean conglomerate is not the first automaker to have its eye on the American Southeast for EV manufacturing. Earlier this year, Mercedes-Benz hosted a grand opening of its battery plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on the same grounds where it builds the electric EQS SUV. Following its debut, the smaller EQE SUV will be built in the same location.

2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Is One Funky EV

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