Hyundai, Kia confirm first US-made electric vehicle: Is the $7,500 tax credit eligible?
Hyundai on Friday confirmed its first electric vehicle will be produced in the United States, while its Kia brand began electric vehicle production in the United States that same day. But neither brand has discussed eligibility for the $7,500 federal tax credit.
The Ioniq 5 will be the first model produced at the automaker’s EV “Metaplant” near Savannah, Georgia, Jose Muñoz, CEO of Hyundai Motor North America, said in an interview with Hyundai. Automotive news. The US Congress is expected to begin in October according to a plan US EV timeline gets a boost Hyundai announced last year.
Kia EV is made in Georgia
“It was absolutely the best-selling product,” Muñoz said of the decision to begin electric vehicle production in the United States with the Ioniq 5. “So I think it was obvious that it needed to be that product.”
Hyundai plans to increase production to up to 300,000 electric vehicles (and battery packs) per year at the new factory in Georgia, part of a $7.6 billion manufacturing complex that includes a joint venture battery plant that operated with LG Energy Solution. Muñoz told Automotive News that the opening of the battery plant will be about a year behind the assembly plant, adding that during that time, Hyundai will source its batteries from the SK On plant in Hungary.
Kia EV9 2024
According to Automotive News, this factory will produce six car models under the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands. Hyundai confirmed in April that, despite initial plans to turn the site into a dedicated electric vehicle factory, it will produce hybrids also. Genesis, the luxury brand of Hyundai Motor Group, has construction of the electrified GV70 Electric SUVs at another factory in Alabama.
While some Kia EV will be produced at MetaplantKia EV9 production began Friday at the automaker’s existing facility in West Point, Georgia.
Electric vehicles produced at either factory will be subject to stricter regulations regarding the origin of raw materials and batteries, so it’s unclear whether these initial models will qualify for the full $7,500. or not.
“More detailed and specific information will come closer to production,” Hyundai Motor America told Green Car Reports.
Early last year, Kia predicted that American-made EV9 vehicles would qualify for tax credits. But that was before federal guidance issued in December, which kicks in in January 2024 and limits foreign content to an expanded list of “low-value” battery components. Green Car Reports has reached out to Kia for comment on whether it qualifies for a tax credit from the get-go, in whole or in part, with these new American-made electric vehicles.
