Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp walked out of his downtown Atlanta office recently, crossed the street and hopped into a new 2023 Kia SUV Telluride to celebrate the South Korean automaker's presence that's about to get much larger in the Peach State.
The occasion was the first Kia Day, held Jan. 31 at the State Capitol complex, to mark Kia Corp.'s commitment to Georgia. Kia, part of Hyundai Motor Group, opened its first auto plant in North America in 2009 in West Point, Georgia, and has invested more than $1.9 billion in that operation. And now Hyundai Motor is building its $5.5 billion Metaplant America near Savannah, Georgia, where it plans to make electric vehicles and ultimately hire over 8,100 people to work in it.
"When Kia’s parent company — Hyundai — completes its Metaplant in Bryan County that we broke ground on last October and the many suppliers it’s bringing to our state have begun operations… the broader family connected to Kia will employ even more Georgians," Kemp said in prepared remarks. "That’s how strong their belief in us has been, that they would make two generational investments in our state in less than two decades."
Kia became the first automaker to choose Georgia for a vehicle assembly plant at a time when neighboring states already had lured foreign companies to set up shop. “Kia is focused on becoming a leader in sustainable mobility by popularizing EVs and we look forward to working with and bringing new opportunities to Georgia, the state we proudly call home," Sean Yoon, president and CEO of Kia North America and Kia America, said in a statement.
Kemp has pledged to position his state as a top location for the manufacturing of electric vehicles and the batteries that power them.