Hyundai said on Tuesday it would strengthen its investment in the production of its upcoming IONIQ 3 electric vehicle with a new battery assembly facility.
The mass production of the IONIQ 3, which is expected to begin in August, will mark the South Korean carmaker's first EV production in Europe.
It will also make it the first foreign automaker to manufacture battery-powered cars in Türkiye.
The company has allocated 55 million euros ($63.81 million) of its total 715 million euro investment package to the battery plant, Hyundai Motor Türkiye said in a statement.
The facility will assemble battery packs using automated systems in cooperation with Hyundai Mobis.
The investment is expected to create more than 300 jobs in its initial phase and contribute to the development of expertise needed by Türkiye's electric vehicle sector, the statement read.
The company said it expects IONIQ 3 output to reach 27,000 units this year and exceed 40,000 vehicles in 2027.
The battery factory, built on a 30,000-square-meter (nearly 98,500-foot) site, will house 27 robots and feature automated packaging processes designed to minimize manual handling in production.
Nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery cells will be sourced from Hungary, while lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery packs for shorter-range variants will be supplied entirely from China.
Hyundai will become the second EV producer in Türkiye after homegrown brand Togg, and the first among foreign automakers.
Hyundai's plant in northwestern city of Izmit has an annual production capacity of 245,000 vehicles and currently produces the i20 and Bayon models.
IONIQ 3 is scheduled to roll off production lines in August before going on sale in the domestic market in September with two battery and powertrain options.
Hyundai Motor Türkiye's Sales, Marketing and After-Sales General Manager Murat Berkel called the new battery investment a "source of great pride."
"This investment, which is highly significant both for our country and for the Turkish automotive industry, will contribute to our brand's growth in Türkiye," Berkel noted.
The Izmit facility, which is also Hyundai's first overseas manufacturing plant, has produced 3.3 million vehicles since operations began in 1997.
Hyundai Motor Group plans to invest $90 billion globally by 2030, launching 21 fully electric and 13 hybrid models.
