Hyundai WIA increases Mexican investment despite tariff threat

At the tail end of 2024, the Korean business press was full of reports that Korean companies’ investments in Mexico were on hold. Across many manufacturing sectors, companies re-assessed their options in response to incoming President Trump’s threat of tariffs on Mexican goods exported to the US. In Monterey specifically, where Kia, Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai WIA all have manufacturing operations, as do a number of Korean suppliers, concerns are growing. Korean suppliers of lights and steering systems have reportedly postponed plans to open new Mexican factories. Hyundai Mobis and WIA supply to both Kia in Mexico and the Hyundai and Kia factories to the north across the US border.

Meanwhile, although Kia does export some of the vehicles it makes in Mexico to Latin American markets and sells some vehicles domestically, most of the cars it makes in Monterey are exported to the US. They are also the smallest and cheapest cars in Kia’s range in the US, bought by people who, arguably, are the least able to afford a 25% tariff on top of the normal price of the car.