Connect with us

Published

on

Hyundai’s $7.6 billion EV plant in Georgia gained its 18th supplier as the automaker builds an extensive US supply chain. The plant, slated to open as early as next month, will produce US-made Hyundai electric vehicles, starting with its updated 2025 IONIQ 5.

Hyundai’s Georgia EV plant attracts its 18th supplier

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced that Shinsung Petrochemical will invest $11.2 million in a new manufacturing facility in Toombs County.

Shinsung, a leading auto sealant company, will be a key supplier for Hyundai’s new Metaplant in Bryan County.

“We are excited that Shinsung is joining that growing network of suppliers locating in rural communities,” Kemp said. The new facility, scheduled to open in 2025, will be the first in Toombs County, creating over 30 new jobs.

The company is the 18th supplier to invest in Hyundai’s new Georgia EV plant. Hyundai is investing $7.6 billion to develop the facility, directly creating 8,500 jobs in the state.

Another $5 billion EV battery plant with SK On is being built in Bartow County, GA, creating an additional 3,500 positions.

Hyundai-US-made-2025-IONIQ-5
Hyundai’s new 2025 IONIQ 5 Limited with a Tesla NACS port (Source: Hyundai)

EVs are creating jobs and attracting investments in GA

Since 2018, Georgia has attracted over $28 billion in investments to build electric vehicles, batteries, and other clean energy initiatives. The funding has already attracted over 36,000 new jobs.

According to a recent Center for Automotive Research study, Hyundai’s plant will create more than 58,200 new jobs while attracting over $12.6 billion in investments in Georgia.

Hyundai-2025-IONIQ-5-XRT
2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 XRT (Source: Hyundai)

Hyundai will open the new facility as early as October. The first model to roll off the assembly line will be the updated 2025 IONIQ 5, which will have more range, a sleek new design, and a Tesla NACS charging port. Hyundai will also launch its first three-row electric SUV, the IONIQ 9, which will also be built at the facility.

Hyundai's-EV-plant-supplier
Hyundai IONIQ 9 (SEVEN) electric SUV concept (Source: Hyundai)

Although initially, vehicles built at the facility will only be eligible for a partial $3,750 tax credit, Hyundai expects its US-made EVs to qualify for the full $7,500 once the battery unit comes online.

Hyundai’s 2025 IONIQ 5 gained a new XRT variant for those looking to “play in the dirt and have all-electric adventures.”

2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 powertrain Trim 2024MY Range New Range
(Targeted)
AWD Limited
SE/SEL
XRT
260 miles
260 miles
N/A
+250 to +280 miles
RWD SE/ SEL/ Limited
Se Standard Range
303 miles
220 miles
+310 miles
+240 miles
2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 targeted range by trim

The rugged trim adds “XRT-exclusive” front and rear bumpers, side skirts, and other aggressive design elements.

After topping Ford and GM in US electric vehicle sales in the second quarter, Hyundai Motor (including Kia) looks to establish its position for the future. According to Motor Intelligence, Hyundai and Kia accounted for 10% of US electric vehicle sales in Q2, outpacing Ford (7.4%) and GM (6.3%).

With US production and advanced new EVs on the way, Hyundai wants an even bigger share of the market.

Source: Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

Ford is preparing for an all-new EV at its Louisville assembly plant, but which one?

Published

on

By

Ford is preparing for an all-new EV at its Louisville assembly plant, but which one?

The Louisville assembly plant is scheduled for an extensive retooling starting later this year to produce a new Ford EV model. After the Escape is phased out, Ford will upgrade the facility to introduce an all-new EV.

What new EV will Ford build in Louisville?

Since 2022, Ford has had the same three electric vehicles available in the US. The Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, and E-Transit. However, that could change soon.

According to Todd Dunn, president of UAW Local 862, Ford’s Louisville plant will likely see some major changes later this year.

Dunn told The Courier Journal that the retooling could take upwards of 10 months. Ford is expected to begin the upgrades in December when the Escape and Lincoln Corsair, which are made at the plant, are phased out.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

Although Ford has yet to confirm the retooling, according to Dunn, the downtime will impact around 2,300 workers at the plant. They are expected to be temporarily laid off during the retooling, but Dunn said they will qualify for supplemental unemployment benefits and will also be able to draw unemployment.

Ford-new-EV-Louisville
Ford Mustang Mach-E (left) and F-150 Lightning (right) (Source: Ford)

The upgrades are part of a 2023 UAW and Ford agreement to make the Louisville plant one of three due for a future EV model.

As to which EV, Dunn still doesn’t know, or when Ford will officially announce it. Since Ford already scrapped plans for a three-row electric SUV, that’s out.

Ford-new-EV-Louisville
Ford’s electric Explorer for Europe (Source: Ford)

Ford is planning to launch the first model on its long-awaited low-cost EV platform, a midsize electric pickup, in 2027. But this is expected to be built in Tennessee. A new “digitally advanced” electric van that will be built in Ohio is also due out next year.

2025-Ford-F-150-Lightning
2025 Ford F-150 Lightning (Source: Ford)

So, what mysterious new EV is Ford planning for Louisville? Ford spokesperson Jess Enoch told The Courier-Journal last year that the company is “committed to an all-new electric vehicle” at the plant but said, “We will share details closer to launch.”

The news comes after Ford’s Mustang Mach-E notched its highest first-quarter sales since its launch, with 11,607 units sold in the first three months of 2024. F-150 Lightning sales, on the other hand, fell 7%.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

Eric Trump says he moved to crypto after family business became ‘most canceled company’

Published

on

By

Eric Trump says he moved to crypto after family business became 'most canceled company'

American Bitcoin co-founder Eric Trump: Crypto's the 'future of the modern financial system'

Eric Trump says his family was “the most canceled company, probably on Earth.”

That was then.

With his dad, President Donald Trump, back in the White House, he sees a new money-making opportunity.

“It actually is what drove us toward cryptocurrency,” the president’s middle son told CNBC, referring to the Trump family’s latest business endeavors. “You realize that cryptocurrency was a lot faster, it was a lot more pragmatic, it was a lot more transparent, it was exponentially cheaper.”

In 2022, about two years after the end of President Trump’s first term, two subsidiaries of the Trump Organization were convicted by a jury in New York of multiple crimes, including tax fraud, falsifying business records and conspiracy. The guilty verdicts on all 17 charged counts came three weeks after Trump declared his 2024 candidacy.

Last month, the Trump Organization sued Capital One in Florida over allegedly “unjustifiably” closing more than 300 of the company’s bank accounts following the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. The lawsuit claimed Capitol One was acting on “unsubstantiated, ‘woke’ beliefs that it needed to distance itself from President Trump and his conservative political views.”

Prior to Trump’s return to the White House, the Trump Organization unveiled a new ethics plan that said it would limit the president’s involvement in management decisions and other aspects of the business while he’s in office.

President Donald Trump (2R), flanked by US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick (L), US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent (2L) and White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks (R), attends a the White House Crypto Summit in Washington, DC, March 7, 2025. 

Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Images

But crypto is another matter. President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump launched meme coins just before the new term, adding billions of dollars of paper wealth to the family’s net worth.

Eric Trump and older brother Donald Trump Jr. are going even bigger. They recently announced plans to launch a U.S. dollar–backed stablecoin through their new venture, World Liberty Financial, and a new bitcoin mining company called American Bitcoin, co-founded with Hut 8 CEO Asher Genoot.

Eric Trump described his entry into crypto not as a financial bet, but as a form of resistance, and said the move began during what he calls the “war on the industry.” Banks were closing accounts, the SEC was cracking down on exchanges, and crypto users were being “debanked” for simply holding coins, he said.

“They were going after people,” he said. “They were suing everybody. Banks were closing down people that just wanted to own bitcoin.”

That’s when Eric Trump said he started associating with like-minded people in and around crypto.

“At this point, I know almost everybody in the industry in some way, shape or form,” he said. “I fell in love with the industry, you know, a few years ago, and really dove head in.”

At World Liberty Financial, the Trump brothers are backing a stablecoin play aimed at competing with players like Tether. Eric Trump didn’t have a specific answer when asked how the project would stand out in a crowded field, saying only, “We’re gonna do it better, cheaper, faster, and we’re gonna do it with a lot of passion.”

Read more about tech and crypto from CNBC Pro

Meawhile, he’s working with Genoot to stand up American Bitcoin, a new mining venture that aims to scale quickly, and possibly go public.

Genoot told CNBC he connected with the Trump kids through mutual friends and began trading stories about their paths into crypto, leading to a business alliance.

Genoot said the company is being separated from Hut 8’s broader energy and artificial intelligence infrastructure platform.

“We’re actually carving out the majority of our assets,” Genoot said. “We’re putting them into American Bitcoin.”

Eric Trump, who is co-founder and chief strategy officer of American Bitcoin, said “every single sophisticated country is using their excess power to mine bitcoin.”

Though his family is closely linked to the current administration’s pro-crypto stance, Eric Trump said he has no role in policy and no contact with the White House. His dad’s presidency was heavily funded by the crypto industry and, since returning to the White House, President Trump has rewarded his backers, signing an executive order to create a strategic bitcoin reserve, and pardoning Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht as well as the three co-founders of the BitMEX crypto exchange.

“I don’t have anything to do with government, and frankly, I don’t want anything to do with government,” Eric Trump said.

But he made clear that the U.S. needs a regulatory framework that allows crypto to thrive.

“You better believe that China is running very hard at this. The entire Middle East is running very hard,” he said. “We won the space race. We better win the crypto race.”

WATCH: Eric Trump, Hut 8 CEO outline partnership to launch new bitcoin mining company

Eric Trump, Hut 8 CEO outline partnership to launch new bitcoin mining company: CNBC Crypto World

Continue Reading

Environment

Greenlane and Volvo’s bold plan to transform electric truck charging in the US

Published

on

By

Greenlane and Volvo’s bold plan to transform electric truck charging in the US

Greenlane is teaming up with Volvo Trucks North America to make charging heavy-duty electric vehicles (HDEVs) easier and more accessible.

The charging network developer is now integrated into Volvo’s Open Charge service, which gives Volvo customers streamlined access to Greenlane’s public chargers. This collaboration makes Greenlane the first official Charge Point Operator (CPO) in North America to partner with Volvo.

Greenlane is a joint venture between Daimler Truck North America, NextEra Energy, and BlackRock. It’s building a US-wide charging network for heavy-duty commercial vehicles, aiming to reduce costs and simplify switching to electric fleets.

Through Volvo Open Charge, Volvo customers now have real-time access to Greenlane’s network, which means easier access to public charging, centralized billing, and special perks. Fleets won’t have to spend big money on their charging infrastructure. Instead, they can plug into Greenlane’s growing network, which will help cut costs and operational headaches while extending range.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

Patrick Macdonald-King, Greenlane’s CEO, called the partnership “a first-of-its-kind collaboration to deliver public charging solutions tailored to the needs of medium- and heavy-duty fleets.” He said it’s all about making the shift to electric trucks smoother and keeping goods and services moving while progressing toward zero-emissions freight.

Greenlane’s flagship charging site is set to open in Colton, California, in April, with more than 40 publicly accessible chargers for everything from heavy-duty trucks to smaller electric vehicles. It’s part of a larger plan to build a network along the I-15 corridor, with stations roughly 60 to 90 miles apart. Future California locations are planned for Long Beach, Barstow, and Baker.

Greenlane and Volvo will continue integrating new membership features into Volvo Open Charge, such as booking reservations. By letting fleets tap into an existing public network, Greenlane’s services can make the transition to electric trucking less about building infrastructure and more about just getting trucks on the road.

Read more: Greenlane’s flagship electric charging truck stop to open in April


If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Trending