Hyundai chief meets U.S. official over IRA issue

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung has discussed with a senior U.S. official about the Inflation Reaction Act (IRA) issue in Seoul, the company said Wednesday.

Chung reportedly demanded the U.S. government take a flexible approach toward companies that have made a major facility investment in the United States when it comes to the discriminatory inflation law.

He also exchanged views with Jose Fernandez, the U.S. under secretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, over other issues, such as electrification, future mobility and global supply disruptions, a Hyundai official said without elaborating further.

The IRA, signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden in August, gives up to US$7,500 in tax credits to buyers of electric vehicles assembled only in North America, sparking concerns that Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. could lose ground in the U.S. market, as they make EVs at domestic plants for export to the U.S.

Seoul asked Washington to delay the execution of the law by three years until the Korean automotive group begins EV production in its new U.S. plant.

Hyundai Motor Group plans to start construction on the 300,000-unit-a-year EV and battery manufacturing plant in Georgia in the first half of this year, and begin production in the first half of 2025.

Hyundai Motor plans to roll out 17 EV models by 2030, including six Genesis models, with Kia scheduled to release 14 EVs by 2027.