Kia to invest $200 million in U.S. plant, build EV9 crossover in 2024

Kia has revealed the price tag for putting its new electric EV9 into production at its U.S. plant in West Point, Ga.: $200 million.

The Korean automaker said the company will add about 200 jobs to build the three-row crossover alongside four other models at the West Point, Georgia, plant. It will be the first Kia electric vehicle assembled in North America and comes as automakers are shifting away from gas-powered vehicles.

A rising amount of EV and battery investments have been made in Georgia.

Battery assembly in North America, using North American sourced minerals, is a requirement for vehicles to be eligible for up to $7,500 in U.S. consumer electric vehicle tax credits under the $430 billion U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) signed in August 2022.

Electric carmaker Rivian Automotive is building a $5 billion plant in the state, while Hyundai Motor Group and SK On said in December they will build a new battery manufacturing plant in Georgia to supply the Korean automaker’s U.S. assembly plants.

Hyundai and SK aim to begin operations in 2025 and said “stakeholders estimate it will create more than 3,500 new jobs through approximately $4-5 billion of investment” in Georgia’s Bartow County. Hyundai separately broke ground in October on a $5.54 billion EV and battery plant in Georgia’s Bryan County. LG Energy Solution will be the battery supplier.

SK Innovation opened a $2.6 billion battery plant in Commerce, Georgia, in January 2022 that is producing batteries for the Ford F-150 EV.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said more than $22.7 billion have been invested in Georgia with more than 28,400 jobs created since 2020 in the EV supply chain.