Hyundai's growth is pushing Genesis' US production back to Korea

Genesis is moving production of its top-selling North American model, the GV70, back to Korea, effectively ending its US manufacturing footprint for now.

Frederic J.

Brown/AFP via Getty Images Genesis is moving production of the GV70 SUV from Alabama back to Korea to make room for Hyundai.

The GV70 is Genesis' best-selling US model, with nearly 34,009 sold in 2025.

A Genesis executive told Business Insider that the US pullback is temporary.

Genesis, Hyundai Motor Group's luxury brand , is putting its US manufacturing footprint temporarily on hold to make room for its parent company, Business Insider confirmed on Thursday.

Ted Mengiste, chief operating officer of Genesis Motor North America, said in an interview that Hyundai is moving production of the GV70 SUV — the brand's best-selling model in the US — out of its Montgomery, Alabama, plant and back to Ulsan, South Korea.

The move would effectively consolidate Genesis vehicle production in Korea, where Hyundai has its largest manufacturing facility.

The Ulsan complex already produces much of the Genesis lineup.

Mengiste attributed the decision to Hyundai's growth in the US.

Hyundai reported a record 450,568 vehicles sold in the US in the first half of 2026, up 3% from a year earlier, after setting a full-year sales record in 2025.

"Hyundai's growing very rapidly in the United States, and our plant in Alabama produced Hyundais and Genesis," he said.

"But capacity became so tight for Hyundai that we took our GV70 production back to Ulsan to allow for incremental production capacity for Hyundai." The Seoul Economic Daily first reported the move in July, citing industry sources.

The Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama facility first opened in 2005 and has an annual production capacity of nearly 400,000 vehicles.