By Heekyong Yang
SEOUL (Reuters) -Hyundai Motor Group said on Tuesday it planned to invest 24 trillion won ($18.14 billion) in South Korea’s electric vehicle (EV) industry through 2030, bolstering its presence in a segment that is set to dominate long-term global automotive demand.
The investment plan by the group, which includes Hyundai Motor Co, Kia Corp and Hyundai Mobis Co Ltd, came as President Yoon Suk Yeol attended a groundbreaking ceremony for Kia’s first designated electric vehicle plant.
The new plant, the auto group’s first in the country in almost three decades, is set to begin production in 2025.
The auto group, which houses luxury brand Genesis, besides Hyundai and Kia, also announced that it plans to expand annual EV production in Korea to 1.51 million units and global volume to 3.64 million units by 2030.
Kia said in a statement that it would invest about 1 trillion won for the plant and plans to produce 150,000 units in the first full year, with the potential to expand in line with future market conditions.
Yoon pledged comprehensive measures in the first half of this year to help South Korea’s auto industry better prepare for transformation to the “vehicles of the future”, the presidential office said in a statement.
It added that the government would expand tax benefits for domestic EV facility investment for a five-fold boost in production capacity by 2030.
The South Korean auto group said last year it would invest more than $10 billion in the United States by 2025 to enhance collaboration with U.S. firms in advanced technology.
The U.S. investment plan includes its $5.5 billion investment for new electric vehicle and battery facilities in the state of Georgia.
Shares of Kia and Hyundai Motor closed up 4.9% and 3.3%, respectively, on Tuesday versus a rise of 1.4% in the benchmark KOSPI index.
($1=1,323 won)
(Reporting by Heekyong Yang; Additional reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Jason Neely and Muralikumar Anantharaman)