"Georgia is Open for Business": Senator Reverend Warnock Applauds Hyundai Motor Group Announcement of New Electric Vehicle (EV) Manufacturing Plant in Bryan County

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) applauded Hyundai Motor Group's announcement of a new electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing plant in Bryan County. According to Hyundai, this new facility will bring a $5.54 billion investment and approximately 8,100 jobs to the state. The manufacturing facility will break ground in early 2023 and production is set to being in the first half of 2025. Last week, Senator Reverend Warnock met with senior leaders from the Hyundai-owned Kia Company to discuss economic priorities for Georgia, and strongly offered his support to encourage locating any new facility in the state.

"I tell business leaders regularly: Georgia is open for business," said Senator Reverend Warnock. "Our state has the workforce and the business climate that allow businesses and workers to succeed. I'll continue working at the federal level to invest in domestic chip manufacturing, improve and expand our ports, and incentivize electric vehicle purchases. I applaud today's exciting announcement and I look forward to continuing the conversation with Hyundai executives about how we can create good-paying jobs and keep Georgia's economy thriving."

"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 U.S.," said Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung."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. We appreciate the continued support of Governor Brian Kemp, Senator Jon Ossoff, Senator Raphael Warnock and other Georgia elected officials."

"As a native Savannahian, I'm thrilled to see this great economic investment land in coastal Georgia," Senator Reverend Warnock added.

Senator Warnock has long worked to foster a business climate that encourages companies to come to Georgia, create jobs, spur innovation, and expand their operations. The Senator has worked tirelessly to strengthen chip manufacturing in the United States, including his leadership on the competition bill that will help prevent future chip shortages; the lack of domestic semiconductors has previously led to harmful work stoppages at Hyundai's Kia plant in West Point, GA. The Senator successfully pushed for major domestic manufacturing investments in semiconductors at the federal level, a cause he has championed as a member of the Senate Commerce Committee and as conferee on the committee tasked with negotiating the final text of the competition bill.

Additionally, the Senator has focused on investments for Georgia's ports, including loosening up $8 million from the White House to ease congestion at the Port of Savannah when as many as 31 vessels were anchored outside the port. Additionally, the Senator secured $16.6 billion for waterway and coastal infrastructure, including $2.25 billion in funding for Army Corps of Engineers projects and the Port Infrastructure Development Program grants benefiting Georgia's deepwater ports in Savannah and Brunswick.

During last week's meeting with Kia executives, Senator Warnock and the Kia representatives discussed the importance of an equitable federal tax credit program to incentivize electric vehicle purchases, and the importance of strengthening Georgia's workforce to allow Kia to employ the people necessary to meet the growing demand for its Georgia-made product. Senator Warnock closed the meeting with the representatives by urging the company to continue investing economically in Georgia and strongly offered his support to encourage locating any new facility in the state.

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