Coming to streets near you: Hyundai’s made-in-Georgia, all-electric SUV

Last week, the SEVEN’s production model, the IONIQ 9, made its debut on Savannah-area roadways in a preview event for automotive journalists from around the world. The IONIQ 9 aims to fill an underserved niche within the company’s electric vehicle fleet — a three-row SUV.

As trade journalists tested the EVs and stopped them at photogenic and video-friendly spots — the downtown historic district, the Tybee Island beach, marsh-side avenues draped in Spanish moss — they were met by Savannahians curious about the cars.

Chad Kirchner, who operates the EV news website Destinationcharged.com, was approached repeatedly while testing the IONIQ 9’s charger attachments at a Tesla supercharger location in the Savannah suburb of Pooler. Most inquired about whether the model was built at the new factory.

“People seemed genuinely excited,” he said. “I’ve never been approached like that at a charging station before in any new car. Doing what I do, I get some attention. But this was next level and exciting.”

Credit: Hyundai Motor Group

Credit: Hyundai Motor Group

The public reaction is similar to when local residents see products made by the region’s other two large-scale equipment makers, the business jet manufacturer Gulfstream and heavy equipment builder JCB.

If sales go as planned, though, IONIQ 9s will be more frequently spotted than luxury private jets, backhoes and skid-steer loaders.

Hyundai is the first auto manufacturer to open a Savannah-area facility — potentially a jolt for the economy here if EV sales continue to accelerate and the South Korean company successfully navigates Trump administration tariffs on auto parts.

Seeing a bright future

The IONIQ 9 is now available for sale in limited quantities and is the flagship model for Hyundai’s IONIQ line, which includes the automaker’s bestselling EV, the IONIQ 5, a compact crossover.

Those two models are being produced at the assembly plant 30 minutes west of Savannah along I-16. The factory, the largest economic development project in state history, opened in October with a limited production schedule. IONIQ 9 manufacturing began earlier this year and all models for domestic sale will be made in Savannah.

At full buildout, the Metaplant will have a production capacity of 500,000 vehicles annually and manufacture multiple EV and hybrid car models for Hyundai and its sister brands Kia and Genesis.

Hyundai has yet to detail its ramp-up plans, although the automaker is confident recent sales growth will continue. Hyundai U.S. sales are up 33% over the last six years, with EVs making up 26% of the automaker’s business. In the first three months of 2025, Hyundai sold 42% more EVs than during the same period in 2024. March was the second-highest sales month in company history.

Credit: Hyundai Motor Group

Credit: Hyundai Motor Group

Hyundai has announced a goal of introducing 23 new EV models and manufacturing 1.44 million battery-powered cars annually by 2030, with the Georgia factory as the epicenter of U.S. production. All EVs currently rolling off the Savannah assembly line are for domestic sale.

As part of a $2.1 billion state incentives package, Hyundai is committed to employing 8,500 workers on the $7.59 billion Metaplant manufacturing campus by 2031.

In addition to the 2,600-worker car assembly facility, the site includes a 3,000-employee EV battery factory to open in 2026, a state-run Georgia QuickStart training center, a logistics supplier known as Hyundai Glovis and two major manufacturing partners. One, Hyundai Transys, builds seats while the other, Hyundai Mobis, consolidates parts into modules, including the passenger compartment, that streamline the assembly process.

Why Savannah made sense

Automakers typically stage what is known in the industry as a “drive” event in locales with varied terrain, better to showcase a new vehicle’s performance. But Hyundai chose Savannah for the IONIQ 9 drive to show off the new factory to the automotive journalists.

The Metaplant is a next-generation manufacturing facility using hundreds of robots in highly automated processes as well as self-propelled dollies that use GPS and motion sensors to navigate partially assembled EVs around the factory floor. The assembly plant tour left the journalists wowed and set up the afternoon-long test drives.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Larger vehicles designed for families is a mostly untapped market for EV buyers that Hyundai is aiming to capture, said Kevin Ketels, an assistant professor of global supply chain management at Wayne State University.

“The fact that they’re an early entrant into the marketplace is good news for them,” Ketels said.

The IONIQ 9 is priced from $60,555 for the basic trim to $76,590 for the fully loaded version, the IONIQ 9 Calligraphy Design. The EV is offered in nine paint colors and three interior colors.

Georgia has emerged as Hyundai’s home base for American-made, three-row electric SUVs. Kia, a Hyundai subsidiary that operates a plant in West Point, recently underwent a factory expansion to produce its three-row electric SUV model called the EV9.

Credit: Hyundai Motor Group

Credit: Hyundai Motor Group

With the Trump administration’s tariffs shaking the global trading landscape, Ketels added that it’ll be important for Hyundai to try to source as many of its vehicle parts from North America and comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, known as USMCA.

The IONIQ 5 sources its batteries from a Commerce battery factory and meets federal requirements for buyers to receive a $7,500 tax credit. The IONIQ 9 also qualifies for the tax credit and currently sources 60% of its parts from the U.S. and Canada.

“If they can (get) vehicle content above 85% (USMCA compliant), then they might not have any tariffs that they have to pay on this,” Ketels said. “So it’ll be priced competitively for this vehicle segment.”

What to know about the Hyundai IONIQ 9