Hyundai Mobis to establish EV parts facility in Slovakia
The new plant in Novaky, Slovakia, will focus on producing PE systems, making it the South Korean company’s first European production base for this key electrification component.
Hyundai Mobis has signed an agreement with the Slovak government to build a new facility to produce EV components in Novaky and a factory for EV braking systems within its existing facility in Zilina with a total investment of around USD 257 million.
The government will provide some 26 million euros (USD 28 million) in incentives to the South Korean company for the project in Novaky in western Slovakia.
This will be the Hyundai Mobis’s third electrification hub in Europe.
Hyundai Mobis is already producing battery systems (BSA) in the Czech Republic and is building a battery system plant in Spain.
The new plant in Novaky, Slovakia, will focus on producing PE systems, making it Hyundai Mobis’s first European production base for this key electrification component, according to a media release. PE (Power Electric) systems are integrated drive units that incorporate electric motor and inverter to ensure optimal performance.
The Novaky project is set to create 281 job positions in the region that saw its coal mine closed in 2023, according to a report in the Slovak Spectator.
“The transformation of this region requires that we find a meaningful alternative for people who have lost their jobs,” said Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
The Novaky plant will be built on a 105,700 square meters facility and start operations by the second half of 2025, involving an investment of approximately KRW 350 billion. Once operational, the plant will have the capacity to produce 300,000 PE systems annually for the European market. An additional KRW 95 billion will be invested in constructing new facilities for producing braking systems and airbags within the existing Zilina plant.
“With the support of the government of Slovakia, we will expand our electrification business in Central Europe, centered around the new PE system plant there,” Hyundai Mobis President Lee Gyu-suk said.
Hyundai Mobis’s partnership with the Slovak government goes back over two decades, with the establishment of its first subsidiary in 2004 and the construction of a module plant in the country’s northwestern city of Zilina.
Several global carmakers such as Kia have facilities in Slovakia. Swedish automaker Volvo Cars plans to open an electric car plant in Slovakia in two years.
