The need to localize vehicle production in the U.S. has been growing under President Biden, as electric vehicles are more cost-effective to produce close to the market. Trump’s tariffs are making things worse, so Hyundai plans to increase the share of robotic assembly operations at its Georgia plant to 40% by the end of the year.
Image Source: Boston Dynamics
This decision intersects with the Korean automaker’s chosen course of purchasing tens of thousands of Boston Dynamics robots for use in similar purposes at all other enterprises. Let us recall that this developer of advanced robots has been 80% owned by Hyundai since 2021, so such cooperation is quite understandable.
As reported by Nikkei Asian Review, citing Hyundai Motor representatives, the company intends to increase the share of robotic assembly operations at its plant in Georgia to 40% by the end of this year, for which purpose it is already starting to introduce humanoid Atlas robots at the site. They will be entrusted with operations currently performed by people, such as moving cargo and installing doors on cars.
The use of industrial robots and other “assistants” from Boston Dynamics’ product range, including robodogs, will also be expanded, with monitoring and inspection functions assigned to them. Until now, auto assembly operations have been considered difficult to automate, but Hyundai hopes to raise the bar to 50%. Pressure treatment of parts and welding will also be automated. In March, the company’s management announced that it would spend about $21 billion over the next four years to develop production in the United States. The Georgia facility will initially be able to produce 100,000 electric and hybrid vehicles annually, but over time this number will increase fivefold.
At the same time, Hyundai’s Alabama car assembly plant will also expand, which will ultimately allow the company to assemble 1.2 million cars annually in the United States. This is 70% more than planned for production by the end of the current year. North America is Hyundai’s largest sales market, and while last year the company’s global car sales fell by 2% to 7 million units, in this region they grew by 4% to 1.9 million units. The local market helped Hyundai achieve record revenue last year, but the bulk of the cars sold continue to be imported from South Korea, which makes the company’s business vulnerable to import duties raised by Donald Trump. For now, Hyundai expects to keep its prices in the United States at the current level until at least June of this year.