Hyundai Mobis opens new power-electric plant in Europe as Chinese cars advance

Hyundai Mobis has started producing power-electric systems at a new plant in Slovakia, placing another major electric-vehicle component inside Europe as Chinese brands rapidly expand their market share.

The company held an opening ceremony on September 2 in Nováky, in the Trenčín region, and announced the launch on September 3. The facility occupies a 106,000-square-meter site, roughly the size of 15 soccer fields, with 8,500 square meters of floor space. It can produce 280,000 power-electric systems a year.

Power electronics form the electric vehicle’s equivalent of an engine. Hyundai Mobis’s system combines the motor, which generates power, the inverter, which controls electrical signals, and the reducer, which controls speed and torque, in a single case using its “3-in-1” technology.

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We will establish the Nováky power-electric system plant as a key electrification hub in Europe.

The European electric-vehicle market ranks second globally after China. In the first half of the year, Hyundai Motor held a 3.4% share of the European auto market and Kia held 4%, while Chinese brands Geely, BYD and Chery reached 3.1%, 2.4% and 2.2%, respectively. Although the overall European market grew by more than 6%, Hyundai Motor Group’s combined share fell to 7.4% from 7.9% a year earlier.

Hyundai Mobis already operates battery-system plants in the Czech Republic and Spain. The Nováky plant will initially supply Hyundai’s Czech electric-vehicle factory and Kia’s Slovakian plant. Company president Lee Kyusuk said he would establish the facility as a key electrification hub in Europe. Slovakia also hosts factories operated by Kia, Volkswagen, Stellantis and Volvo. Slovak Prime Minister Roberto Fico, Economy Minister Denisa Saková, Trenčín Governor Jaroslav Baška and EU officials attended the ceremony.

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The new plant will function as an integrated hub for supplying core electrification components within the region and will strengthen our competitiveness in winning electrification orders from global customers and our influence in the market.