US Automakers Still Plan To Make More EVs, Faster

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Oh the irony, it burns. The President of the United States of America aimed to kill the vehicle electrification movement in its cradle, but lately he’s been the one ruminating about heaven while US automakers keep laying more plans to populate the roads of the US with more EVs. Along with recent announcements from Ford and General Motors, Hyundai Motor Group is also making moves.

Hyundai Has A Plan For EVs …

To be clear, the near term outlook is less rosy than it was last year, when supportive federal policies encouraged both automakers and the auto-buying public to choose electric. Nevertheless, in August, Ford and General Motors both announced ambitious new EV plans with a focus on speed and affordability.

Hyundai beat both automakers to the punch. In 2024, Hyundai opened its massive new Metaplant in Georgia, then followed up in March of this year with a new investment plan of $21 billion over the next three years, covering a wide field of its US operations.

The plan includes the goal of manufacturing a total of 1.2 million units of both ICE and electric vehicles combined, but Hyundai also took the opportunity to sketch out several EV-specific elements in the new three-year plan, including robotaxi and autonomous driving partnerships with Waymo and Aptiva, along with a continued interest in the new IONNA EV charging consortium. Hyundai also announced plans to establish a new “auto cluster” focusing on localized supply chains for battery packs among other auto parts.

The $21 billion plan also supports other Hyundai ventures in the US, including robotics, SMR (Small Modular Reactor) nuclear energy, and eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft.

… And They Just Upped The Ante

So much for March. Much water has passed under the bridge in the months since then, including the passage of a new federal tax bill that eliminates the $7,500 credit for EVs, a cut for which Trump forcefully advocated and Republican members of Congress gleefully enacted. Nevertheless, at the beginning of August, Hyundai announced plans to bring more electric delivery vans to the US, in partnership with the BrightDrop branch of General Motors.

Hyundai capped off a busy month on August 25, when it announced a significant new addition of $5 billion more to the $21 billion announced in March, for a total of $26 billion invested in the US over the next three years.

Hyundai did not add a new item to its to-do list, though it did emphasize that Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation will “substantially expand” production capacity in the US, with the aim of “strengthening the Group’s ability to meet the evolving needs of American consumers with greater speed and efficiency.”

More EV Charging Stations For More EVs

What might Hyundai mean by “evolving needs” remains to be seen. One thing that comes to mind is the thirst of the US driving public for big, bigger, and biggest vehicles of any sort, electric or not. However, that trend has been in motion for decades. It doesn’t represent a particularly new or different evolution in “the needs of American consumers.”

What is evolving is the role of vehicles in homes and businesses. In contrast to the one-way fueling street that ties the hands of ICE vehicle owners, electric vehicles tap into a web of driver-centered interactions with smart grids, energy storage, solar panels, virtual power plants, and other 21st century technologies.

If you have any thoughts about that, drop a note in the comment thread. Before you do, consider that Hyundai is among those already meeting those evolving needs. In 2022, the company launched a home electrification package including solar panels and energy storage in support of its zero-emission mobility business.

More Activity Is Stirring In The EV Manufacturing Field

In a sign that supply chain stakeholders are also looking ahead to the future, on August 27, the top-rated German firm MAHLE announced that it will begin manufacturing its e-compressors in Morristown, Tennessee. The new assembly line will share space with the company’s existing ICE piston manufacturing facility.

“E-compressors are important for the thermal management in electric vehicles and crucial for battery life, high charging speed and driving range,” MAHLE notes.

“Starting the e-compressor production in Morristown, Tennessee, marks an important milestone for MAHLE as we further strengthen our footprint in the USA,” explained MAHL board chairman and CEO Arnd Franz.

“This decision represents MAHLE’s strong commitment to the US market as well as for the Morristown production site,” Franz added.

“MAHLE plans to increase its presence and activities in the USA in the coming years as part of the group’s strategy to manufacture world class products for vehicles ‘Made in America,’” MAHLE emphasized for good measure.

More Charging Stations For More EVs

Stakeholders in the EV charging industry also did not get the memo about the death of the electric car. News in that sector has been surfacing all year, including a new turnkey charging station infrastructure partnership between Eaton and ChargePoint. The plan was announced in May, and passage of the new tax law in July did not take the bloom off the rose. The two firms unveiled their new “ChargePoint Express Grid” in August.

Another interesting item popped up on August 28, when Ford announced a new plan to install “Ford Charge” public and fleet EV charging stations at more than 320 dealerships across the country. “Ford Charge has immense potential because it offers drivers the peace of mind of being backed by Ford,” enthused a dealer in New Hampshire in the company’s “On the Road” blog.

The 320+ dealers are now part of Ford’s BlueOval Charge network, through which Ford aims to make EV fast chargers available within every 18 miles on main routes.

Another area to keep an eye on is the growing field of transportable, drop-in charging stations. The mobile business model is designed for fleet decarbonization, providing a quick solution for near-term EV charging needs.

Photo (cropped): Hyundai has announced another $5 billion investment in its US operations, partly in support of it EV business, bringing the total this year to $26 billion (courtesy of Hyundai).

*”I wanna try and get to heaven if possible. I’m hearing I’m not doing well,” the President said on August 19 during a call-in to a television show. “I am really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to heaven….”