Hyundai is set to join the “Made in the USA” movement with the Ioniq 5, which is expected to be the company’s first electric vehicle manufactured in the US. The updated 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 will go on sale in October at Hyundai’s new Metaplant Americas facility in Bryan County, Georgia.
The Korean automaker was particularly hard hit by the federal government’s announcement of the Inflation Reduction Act, as its electric vehicles will not be eligible for the new tax credit. As a result, sales of the company’s highly praised Ioniq 5 EV and eventually the Ioniq 6 as well, were low. To address the issue, Hyundai announced it would build a new production facility in Georgia, and now it looks like the new plant is operational.
The 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5, scheduled to launch with major changes later this year, will be the first electric vehicle to roll off the new production line. With commercial production starting in October, Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) is now educating its workers and getting ready for trial production. All trim lines, except for the sporty Ioniq 5 N, will be produced at the new site. Eventually, it will be the only plant to build the Ioniq 5 model in the US.
Although the US version of the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 has not yet been revealed, it is expected to feature changes similar to the one unveiled in Korea in March. The larger battery, which has 84 kWh instead of the previous 77.4 kWh, is the most significant modification. The claimed mileage of the revised model in Korea was 485 km (301 miles), compared to 458 km (285 miles). Thanks to new circuitry, the updated battery charges even faster – it takes just 18 minutes to go from 10% to 80%.
Hyundai’s first electric vehicle to use the E-GMP architecture was the Ioniq 5. Its operation at 800 volts, making it one of the first EVs to comply with the higher voltage standard, is its most notable feature. Its greater power capacity enables better performance and significantly shorter charge times. With 34,000 sold in the US last year, Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 is now the sixth best-selling electric vehicle on the market. With nearly 15,000 units sold in the first five months of 2024, things look to be going well.
Hyundai will benefit from federal tax credits, which currently apply at the time of sale, by manufacturing the Ioniq 5 in the US. Leasing an Ioniq 5 is still a better option than buying it until October, when production of the new model will begin at Metaplant America. To minimize the impact of the Osborne effect on sales of the existing model, Hyundai is offering a $7,500 discount to US customers who purchase the 2024 Ioniq 5.
The new production facility in Bryan County, Georgia, where the Korean automaker has invested $7.59 billion, is expected to create 8,500 direct jobs. Additionally, Bartow County, Georgia will get 3,500 new jobs from a new battery manufacturing facility built in collaboration with SK On. A recent analysis by the Center for Automotive Research estimated that Hyundai’s investment in Georgia will create nearly 40,000 new jobs.