Hyundai Expands Four-Cylinder Engine Production in the U.S.

• Spurred by booming U.S. demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles, including the Hyundai Elantra
and Sonata, the Korean automaker said it is investing $173 million to expand its Alabama engine
plant. 
• The Montgomery plant will be modified and expanded to produce the 1.8-liter Nu engine that is
used in the Elantra, as well as the Theta engines that are used in the Sonata and Santa Fe. 
• The engine plant will build 300,000 units a year and will supply the Hyundai assembly plant in
Alabama. 

MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Spurred by booming U.S. demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles, including the Hyundai Elantra and Sonata, Korean automaker Hyundai said it will invest $173 million to expand an engine plant in Alabama.

The Montgomery plant, which quit building V6 engines earlier this year, will be modified and expanded to produce the 1.8-liter Nu four-cylinder engine that is used in the redesigned 2011 Elantra. Hyundai also is expanding production capacity for the 2.0T and 2.4 Theta four-cylinder engines that are used in the Hyundai Sonata. The Elantra and Sonata are built at an adjacent assembly plant in Montgomery.  The 2.4 Theta engines also are used in the Hyundai Santa Fe. 

Production capacity at the Montgomery engine plant is being expanded to 300,000 units a year. Construction is expected to be completed this fall, with new production set to begin in March 2012.

Hyundai's Montgomery assembly plant makes two of the hottest-selling cars in the U.S., the Elantra and Sonata. Hyundai Motor America said Elantra and Sonata April sales in the U.S. each topped 20,000 — a company first — and that more than 90 percent of the vehicles it sold last month in the U.S. were equipped with four-cylinder engines.

The announcement of the investment in Hyundai's Alabama engine plant also triggered media speculation that another Hyundai assembly plant may be in the works. In response to a query from Inside Line regarding the company's plans for a new U.S. assembly plant, a Hyundai spokesman on Tuesday said, "We don't have anything to announce."

Inside Line says: A bit of good news for American manufacturing and workers, as Hyundai continues to expand its presence here. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent

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