사진 확대 (Hyundai Mobis)
Hyundai Mobis has begun mass-producing integrated electric vehicle drive systems at a new plant in Slovakia, establishing its first such production base in Europe as it seeks to expand business with global automakers.
The South Korean auto parts maker said Thursday that it held a ceremony Wednesday marking the start of operations at the plant in Novaky in Slovakia’s Trencin Region.
About 100 people attended the event, including Hyundai Mobis President and CEO Lee Gyu-suk, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Denisa Sakova.
A Power Electric, or PE, system is an integrated electric powertrain unit comprising an electric motor, an inverter and a reduction gear. The inverter converts electricity supplied by the battery into a form suitable for driving the motor.
The Novaky facility is Hyundai Mobis’ first PE system plant in Europe and its third electrification production base in the region, following battery system assembly plants in the Czech Republic and Spain.
The plant occupies a site of about 106,000 square meters, equivalent to roughly 15 soccer fields, and has a total floor area of 8,500 square meters. It includes production lines for stators, a core component of electric motors, as well as inverters and other parts.
The facility can produce up to 280,000 PE systems annually.
Hyundai Mobis invested about 250 billion won ($184.3 million) in the plant to strengthen its local manufacturing capacity and establish a supply system capable of responding quickly to automakers’ needs.
“We will continue to invest and devote our efforts to establishing the Novaky PE system plant as a key electrification hub in Europe to realize Hyundai Mobis’ future vision,” Lee said.
“Strategic models from global automakers equipped with Hyundai Mobis PE systems will lead the European electrification market.”
The plant is expected to serve as an integrated production hub supplying key electrification components to Hyundai Motor and Kia as well as other global automakers. Hyundai Mobis aims to use local production to improve access to European customers and respond more flexibly to changes in the EV market.
The company has developed in-house technology and mass-production capabilities for major EV components, including battery and PE systems.
Hyundai Mobis operates domestic production facilities in Ulsan, Daegu, Chungju and Pyeongtaek, as well as electrification production bases in major overseas markets including the United States, the Czech Republic, Spain and Indonesia.
The company is particularly focused on the growth potential of Europe, the world’s second-largest EV market after China. By locating electrification component plants near automakers’ production bases, Hyundai Mobis plans to strengthen both its ability to win new orders and its supply-chain competitiveness.
Hyundai Mobis has set a target of increasing the share of its core auto-parts sales generated from global automakers to 40 percent by 2033. The start of mass production at the Novaky plant gives the company additional capacity to support new orders in Europe.
By Chu Dong-hun and Minu Kim
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