Hyundai, Kia plan $3.1-billion US investment

US investment by S Korea's two automakers is about 50% more than the previous 5-year period

Hyundai Motor Co and affiliate Kia Motors said they will spend $3.1 billion in the US in the next five years, joining other vehicle manufacturers in announcing investment plans amid threats from President-elect Donald Trump of higher levies on auto imports from Mexico.

The planned US investment by South Korea’s two largest automakers is about 50 per cent more than the $2.1 billion they spent in the previous five-year period, Hyundai Motor President Chung Jin-haeng told reporters in Seoul on Tuesday. The group is considering building a new factory in the US and may produce Hyundai Motor’s upscale Genesis vehicles in