In Georgia, the Hyundai Motor Group can feel like a victory lap for a South Korean automotive by running 2026 ivit 9 SUVs around the Metlanot. Hyundi’s Electric Flagers have developed a room for three US -based rows seats, with EV and Hybrids already making one of every four US sales.
Even better, ioniq 9 and the small ioniq 5 are emerging from a new factory in the United States, which is getting Hyundi a defensive blahk against Donald Trump’s administration’s revenue and provocation. When I see that this electric SUV eliminates the surgically clean assembly line, the opportunist time of the hind is as large as it is like a light robot that helps to build its cars.
The $ 7.6 billion factory visit also revealed how many carmakers have long been running with Washington’s 5 Washington winds, which has long been running with EV projects, which is at risk of blowing up the support of the Biden era for EV manufacturing, consumer tax credit, and public charge.
Hyundai’s opportunistic time is as large as the lighting robot that helps build its cars
Swanna is seen from the air through the air, the metaplant is similar to a hidden circuit board on the green background, which is blown on an epic scale. Eleven low reduction in Georgia rural areas, with a 3,000 -acre area of yellow green buildings, with a total of 7.5 million square feet of space. A building has a billion 4 billion battery plant, which is a joint operation with South Korea’s LG energy solution, which plans to start supplying cells for ioniq models next year. The company is running to open another battery plant in Georgia, which is a joint operation of about $ 5 billion with SK On. The steel plant in Louisiana further indicates Hyundai’s commitment to its largest global market. This is all part of the $ 21 billion investment in the United States between 2028, which promised a majority during the EV -friendly Biden administration.
Pulling into the factory, I see a conveyor carrying fresh paint cars across the window bridge. It is designed to look at the consequences of a plant at Interstate 16 that will eventually produce 500,000 EVs and hybrids in a year-more than Tesla’s Texas Giga factory, its 375,000 car capacity. Georgian residents can also see their tax dollars at work. The publicly supported plant already hires 1,340 “metapros”, which is enough to increase the automated company’s annual local payroll to $ 497 million. Hyundi has finalized 8,500 jobs on the site, and 7,000 more satellite jobs for local suppliers and businesses.
These are many jobs. Compared to the Detroit Area Factory, where I worked hard in the 1980s, a depression of heat, dirt, toxic chemicals and industrial accidents is like Melstrom, it is like a joint MOMA: a modern museum of manufacturing art.
But the factory also sheds light on modern manufacturing catch 22, which seems to ignore Trump’s economic advisers, deliberately or in some way: to have a chance to compete with China’s EV and battery joggonat, the factories must work 24/7 and to increase the troops. This means to employ a relatively FEW human.
In the factory loading posts, Vehicles with autonomous guidanceOr Agvs, remove parts of seminatics. About 300 of these robotic sleds roam the factory that requires no tracks, avoiding clean workers or barriers. AI notifies the entire operation of the factory, from shopping to logistics.
About 300 300 these robotic sleds rotate in the factory that requires without any tracks
These Agvs are common in today’s factories, but I have never seen them on this scale, or a distinctive penture of the tag team: a pair of solids slipped under the slide when they descend from the line. They squeeze the wheels of the cars into robotic arms, wave them from the ground, and ferry cars where they need to go. I have visited car factories all over the world, and this is the first job where I have seen that an employee does not need to start cars and drive them.
Automatic vehicles take each component into the assembly line for effective “only time” installation, no human is needed. It avoids wasting money and storing labor in large -scale backblages.
“They are providing the right part at the right station at the right time, so you are not trusting the people to make decisions,” says Jerry Roach, senior general assembly manager.
The best friend of man gives appearance. A pair of robotic dogs called “Spot” Hyundi -owned, Massachusetts -based Boston dynamicsScan and smell potential defects on car welds. They can soon be included in the yellow -coated dogs with Humanoid Robots, an AI -powered “Atlas” model, who plans to deploy Hundi to their factories in the future. Dexterous Bapping Bots – Whose cart wheel, brake densis, and barrel roll capacity are already out of most auto workers – apparently appearing friendly, but will attack any emotional person as a potential terminator of jobs. (Hyundai executives insist that this is not the case).
The welding store has 475 industrial robots alone, which have connected the car chassis building blocks simultaneously. A steel stamping plant is so calm that no mining protection is needed, even the robot seals the roam, fonders and other panels of the body. Like many well -known factories, there are very few workers outside the assembly line. I see only a few dozens of work in the cave welding hall.
Familiar industrial robot – but not yet a humanoid Atlas robot – even apply large car gates on the assembly line. Roch says it is notorious for workers to manage paint levels without potentially harm. Such “with mutual support” robots should be safe and reliable to work as well as humans without the need for physical separation.
“This is a real -life factory of the future,” says Roach.
Photo: Hyundi
Roch says that such jobs, including massive lifting, frequent works, or computerized speed and accuracy, are automatically “basic things”. Other jobs require small health related, which only provides human hands and vision.
“I want my people to craft,” says Roach. “I want to pay people well for the things they do well, and take away everything that is painful and boring, jobs that people don’t want to do.”
Of course, some people may not mind painful or heavy jobs that even pay a wage. But they are not going back to the days when thousands of workers were imposed to murmur the factory. Ford’s River Roose Complex, designed by Albert Kahn, employed more than 100,000 workers during World War II.
The 21st Century carmaker also means the latest in Green Tech. Goals to its 100 % energy -earning metaphil from renewable sources. Localized supply chain daily operates from hydrogen fuel cells to prevent parts daily and produce zero tail pipe emissions. 21 truck fleet made in the ownership of Hyundai xcientThe world’s first trading fuel cell semi.
Employees can park about 1,900 spaces under solar roofs, protecting Georgia from baking, which provides up to five percent of the plant’s electricity. Most of the factory manufactured cars are shipped by rail instead of a truck, and the plant carbon marks are trimmed.
Photo: Hyundi
Credit where credit is obligatory
Hyundai hopes that those trains will work on Overseas 2026 Ionik 9. Buyers will find a wide, more affordable foil that will find the Revenue R1S or Tesla Model X with a 50 % more cargo space behind its third row than Tesla. Critically praised Kia EV9’s sister’s car is still the most expensive hind, which starts at 60.595, for a single motor model with a minor 215 horsepower. Coconling, a well -pleasant driving SUV receives an 110kW hour battery that supplys 335 miles from the driving range, or is a solid solid for the AWD version from 311 to 320 miles. It is full of useful tech, which includes a curling pair of 12.3 inch screens, 100 watts USB-C connectors, and active noise cancellation.
Ioniq 9 may focus specifically on the tech of the tech: a ship Tesla opens the wide world of Tesla Supercharging for buyers for buyers. – Like other EVs with modern architecture of 800 or more volts, Ioniq 9 does not charge top rates on 9 supermarchers. But Hyundai still refers to the refill in 40 minutes of 10 to 80 percent. This electrical falls up to 24 minutes at the 350 kW CCS chargers in the United States. Ioniq will bring free editors to plug in 9S CCS stations, and open access to a total of 45,000 DC stalls in the United States.
Ioniq 9 are filled with useful tech
Hyundi was also hoping that he would attract Ivan Q. Buyers, with 7,500 users tax credit, including changing the production of Ion Q5 in Georgia from South Korea. For ioniq 9 I tested-a top shelf, 000 75,000 calligraphy AWD model with 422 horsepower that has 422 horsepower from a couple of electric motors-it will represent 10 % of the credit price. But now the Trump administration is turning to the electronic cars, which is in the most extraordinary, close malicious fashion of the majority built in the republican -led states. This credit is kneeling, blocking public money for chargers, and cutting EV and hybrid with annual fees for road maintenance.
Hyundi also took his bales under the Biden administration: Despite the billions of dollars in US investment, the IRA disqualified its imported EV for tax credit. The World President of Hyundi, Jose Mouz, made it clear that the company felt blind and unfairly away from credit.
The Metlanot was an answer, allowing Hyundi to transfer 5 production of Ian Qi from South Korea. This increases the percentage of models in US and Canada -made parts to two percent, including US -driven batteries. For ioniq 9, North America’s share is 60 %. Finally, Hyundai can fully qualify both US -made Ion Cue models for tax credit for 7,500 users, as was done by executives during my plant visit.
But in a bitter irony, a hind that crossed the oceans and moved the mountains to the hind, what, and to jump to the US production of luxury Gennis EV, is about to be out of credit. Once again
There are lessons anywhere. For supporters of tariffs, the meta -plant can actually be a $ 7.6 billion lesson: No US factory can unite a car without imported parts, including China, which is closely monopolized on several raw or processed battery material.
For automated makers, including (Vision jealous) Hyundai rivals are now under pressure that they are on the coast of their factories, lessons are different. To deal with the changing tariff mode of the Trump administration, in a business that survives a long -term explanation, regulatory consistency and economic stability.
For every EV maker, which includes a Hyundai motor that apparently does everything through the book, a result appears inevitable: they are themselves. Washington does not expect any help, but a potential injury. The only potential strategy is to tie their sleeves, keep the head down and avoid further kicking on the teeth.
