Hyundai Motor Co. and General Motors Co. will jointly develop five brand new vehicles and source materials and car components, the two companies said on Thursday, marking Hyundai’s first strategic alliance with a global carmaker.
Their partnership comes as US carmakers are facing rising material costs due to tariffs imposed by Donald Trump’s administration amid the ascent of Chinese rivals, while the South Korean automaker is grappling with steep tariffs in its largest market.
The five models will include a mid-size pickup, a compact car, a small-size pickup and a sports utility vehicle, all targeting Central and South American markets, where pickups represent the largest segment of vehicles sold.
They will also join hands to develop an electric commercial van brand, a smaller sibling to Chevrolet’s BrightDrop vans, specifically designed for the North American market.
All of the five models will be compatible with either internal combustion engines or hybrid systems.
“GM will take the lead on the mid-size truck platform, while Hyundai heads up the platforms for the other new models,” Shilpan Amin, senior vice president and chief procurement and supply chain officer at General Motors, said in a statement.
“Each company will sell these companies under their own brands … But no matter the badge, everything we build together will carry the stamp of both GM and Hyundai’s engineering, manufacturing and innovative spirit,” he added.
The first of these vehicles are scheduled to roll out in 2028. They expect the production of the five brands to reach more than 800,000 vehicles a year.
Hyundai will begin manufacturing an electric commercial van in the US as early as 2028, Hyundai said in a press release released on Thursday.
Their strategic alliance follows Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun’s announcement in March that it will invest nearly $9 billion through 2028 to expand its production capacity of both Hyundai and Kia Corp. and its luxury marque Genesis in the US to 1.2 million units.
It also earmarked an additional $6 billion to reinforce its collaboration with US companies in autonomous driving, robotics, artificial intelligence, advanced air mobility and future energy.
JOINT SOURCING
The world’s third- and fifth-largest carmakers are seeking joint sourcing in North and South America for materials, transport and logistics, including new materials, components and complex systems.
Further, they will explore collaboration on low-carbon emissions steel and fuel cell development.
“By teaming up, we can reduce costs, streamline manufacturing and launch new models faster. Joint sourcing and logistics boost efficiency and deliver savings, with room to scale further across raw materials and complex systems,” said Amin.
He noted their partnership will enable them to broaden their lineup, while making our R&D, logistics, design and manufacturing teams even more effective.
Hyundai said it will continue to explore further collaboration with GM to develop additional models targeting the global market and expand their partnership across the power system, including internal combustion engines and fuel cells, as well as hybrid vehicles.
José Muñoz, chief executive of Hyundai Motor, stated that the first jointly developed vehicles with GM will demonstrate how their complementary strengths and scale can be leveraged to create synergy.
Last week, Seoul struck a tariff agreement with Washington by setting a tariff to 15% on imports from South Korea.
Under the trade deal, the US will impose an additional tariff of 15% on South Korea-made automobiles.
Separately, the US imposed 25% tariffs on foreign parts used to manufacture cars in the US in May.
Analysts said Korean carmakers must respond by cutting raw material costs, increasing local production and adjusting incentives to protect profitability.
Meanwhile, Hyundai Steel Co. will build its first overseas steel mill in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, in a $5.8 billion project.
By Yeonhee Kim
yhkim@hankyung.com
Jennifer Nicholson-Breen edited this article.
