Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley visits Hyundai assembly line after production begins on Santa Fe SUV
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley tours Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama on June 28, with president and CEO Jun Ha Kim. to see the new Santa Fe SUV being produced at the plant after a $52 million expansion. (Governor's Office/Jamie Martin)
Hyundai’s Alabama auto plant successfully launched mass production of the Santa Fe Sport a week ago today and Gov. Robert Bentley paid a visit to the Montgomery assembly line Tuesday.
Workers built about 50 of the SUVs on the first day, and are ramping up to as many as 200 per day this week, said Robert Burns, spokesman for the automaker’s Montgomery operations.
By the end of the year, more than 36,000 vehicles are expected to roll off the facility’s assembly line, part of Hyundai’s effort to meet growing demand in the segment.
The company spent $52 million on the project, primarily for equipment and line improvements to accommodate the vehicle. There were also tooling purchases for suppliers to support the Santa Fe, and employees received additional training.
The Santa Fe was previously produced in Alabama, from 2005 to 2010, when output was transferred to a plant in West Point, Ga., operated by Hyundai’s affiliate, Kia. Production of the SUV will continue there.
Bentley told reporters he was glad to see the production of the popular SUV return to Alabama. The governor got a close look at the automation Hyundai added with the expansion and the vehicle itself.
The $1.8 billion, 3,000-worker Montgomery plant also produces Hyundai’s top-selling cars, the Sonata and Elantra.
“We’re thrilled to bring back another pillar of the Hyundai lineup to our production mix here at HMMA,” said Chris Susock, vice president of production, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. “We’ve been extremely proud to build both Sonata and Elantra on our assembly line for Hyundai in the U.S. and we will continue our tradition of quality and productivity with the addition of the Santa Fe Sport in 2016.”
