Peter Palmer: Hyundai Santa Fe Sport Heads to Alabama

The Santa Fe Sport is being added to the production schedule at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) this summer. Hyundai is supplementing existing production in the United States as SUV sales increase industry-wide.

“We’re very happy Hyundai has been able to make this change, which will result in more great Santa Fe crossovers available to our dealers and customers,” said Dave Zuchowski, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor America. “The new production will help us meet the growing demand for one of our most popular products.”

Santa Fe Sport joins Sonata and Elantra already in production in Alabama. The Santa Fe was last built at HMMA in August 2010.

“We’re thrilled to bring back another pillar of the Hyundai lineup to our production mix here at HMMA,” said Chris Susock, Vice President of Production, HMMA.

In the coming months, HMMA will focus on retooling, robot programming, and other logistics in preparation for Santa Fe Sport. Although production targets for Sonata, Elantra, and Santa Fe Sport will be determined later, Susock emphasized the importance of HMMA’s role in upholding the brand’s reputation.

“We’ve been extremely proud to build both Sonata and Elantra on our assembly line for Hyundai in the U.S. and we will continue our tradition of quality and productivity with the addition of the Santa Fe Sport in 2016,” he said.

Founded in 2002, HMMA is capable of assembling nearly 400,000 units per year. The automaker invested $1.7 billion to build the 2-million square-foot facility that includes a two-mile test track and two engine shops.

*Carl Anthony is Managing Editor of Automoblog.net and resides in Detroit, Michigan.