Hyundai Wia opens new Slovakia factory, targets European EV market

Hyundai Wia held a mass production launch ceremony at its new factory in Martin, Žilina Region, Slovakia, on Wednesday (local time), the company announced Thursday.

The event was attended by Hyundai Wia CEO Kwon Oh-sung, Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Saková, Labor Minister Erik Tomáš, Žilina Regional Governor Erika Jurinová, Martin Mayor Ján Danko and South Korean Ambassador to Slovakia Kwon Ki-hwan, along with representatives from the Slovak government, key customers and partners, and local media.

The Slovak subsidiary relocated its production facilities to the new plant in Martin and established a large-scale manufacturing operation there. Founded in April 2023, the subsidiary had until recently been producing constant-velocity joints at a separate facility in the Žilina Region. Hyundai Wia decided to move to the new plant to get ahead of projected medium- to long-term production growth and secure a more stable manufacturing base.

The new factory will produce both constant-velocity joints and coolant modules, with annual capacity of up to 800,000 units and 280,000 units, respectively. Through continued investment, Hyundai Wia plans to expand the subsidiary's CVJ production capacity by up to fivefold. The company also intends to diversify its product lineup beyond coolant modules to include HVAC modules.

Through the Slovak subsidiary, Hyundai Wia will supply constant-velocity joints and thermal management components to Hyundai Motor Company, Kia and other global automakers. The company particularly aims to strengthen its push into Europe's electrification market by supplying parts for battery electric vehicle models such as the Kia EV2 and EV4. To support the expansion, the subsidiary's workforce is set to grow from 98 employees to around 410 by 2030.

"The new Slovakia plant is a key production hub that Hyundai Wia has established in Europe, and a symbolic milestone as our company — marking its 50th anniversary — moves toward the next 100 years," CEO Kwon said. "We will become a trusted partner for European customers through world-class technology and quality."

Hyundai Wia aims to use the launch of the Slovakia plant as a springboard to expand its market share in Europe for both drivetrain components and automotive thermal management parts. "The new Slovakia plant will allow us to accelerate our push into the European electric vehicle parts market," a company official said. "We will continue to strengthen our global production competitiveness through sustained investment and technology development."

Meanwhile, as part of its strategy to expand the lineup of its mobile robot brand H-Motion, Hyundai Wia plans to supply unmanned forklifts capable of autonomously loading and unloading cargo from trucks to Kia's AutoLand Hwaseong plant in May next year. The company said it is the first in South Korea to successfully supply fully unmanned forklifts capable of autonomous loading and unloading operations.