Jose Muñoz, CEO of Hyundai Motors, speaks at a press conference during Milan Design Week as Hyundai launches its new electric car “Ioniq 3” in Milan, Italy on April 20, 2026.
Claudia Greco | Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO — Hyundai Motor Co. is considering plans to further expand production in the U.S. with a new multibillion-dollar auto assembly plant in Georgia, CEO Jose Muñoz told CNBC on Thursday.
Muñoz said the South Korean automaker could increase the planned production capacity of Hyundai Motor Group’s Metaplant America from 500,000 to 700,000 to 800,000 by 2028.
“For us, the United States is the most important market in the world besides South Korea, where we are headquartered,” Muñoz said in an exclusive interview Thursday after the unveiling of the company’s flagship Genesis GV90 SUV.
He said the potential capacity increase is part of Hyundai’s plan to invest $26 billion in the U.S. through 2028. The company aims to launch dozens of new products and has a goal of producing at least 80% of the cars it sells in the U.S. domestically by the end of this decade, up from about 40% in 2024.
“To do that, we need to increase our production capacity further,” he said Thursday. “We want to have all of this up and running by 2028. That’s our intention.”
After the announcement, Hyundai said the plans were under consideration but not yet confirmed.
The plant, which will produce 700,000 to 800,000 vehicles annually, will be the largest vehicle assembly plant in the U.S. by capacity, surpassing other facilities from companies such as: tesla and toyota motors.
Hyundai is also considering additional investment in production capacity outside the Georgia metaplant for body-on-frame vehicles such as trucks and SUVs, but Muñoz declined to provide further details.
“We’re always, always evaluating opportunities in the market,” he said.
Hyundai Metaplant in Elabelle, Georgia, September 9, 2025.
Ilya Nouberge | AFP | Getty Images
Muñoz said President Donald Trump’s tariffs, including a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea, helped accelerate the company’s U.S. production plans.
“Tariffs are helping to accelerate our localization plans. It’s very, very easy,” he says. “The good thing is that we were already starting before the tariffs were announced, so in a way it’s helping us accelerate.”
Hyundai initially announced construction of the plant in 2022, but continues to expand plans for a $7.6 billion facility aimed at producing hybrid and all-electric vehicles for Hyundai, Genesis and Kia.
Metaplant currently produces the all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9, as well as the Kia Sportage hybrid.
Muñoz, who became the company’s first non-Korean CEO when he took over last year, said the company’s plans include producing a variety of vehicles at the plant and hiring thousands of people. The current 500,000 unit plan includes more than 8,500 employees at the Georgia megasite and more than 6,900 employees at off-site suppliers.
Hyundai has seen a significant increase in U.S. sales over the past decade, even before the Metaplant came online. Sales for the brand and its parent company, which includes Kia Motors and Genesis, are up nearly 50%, according to company reports and Mobility Global.
According to Mobility Global (formerly S&P Global Mobility), Hyundai expanded its market share in the U.S. from 8.4% in 2020 to 11.2% last year.
