Jan 17, 2017, 8:01am ET

Hyundai, Kia weigh $3.1B U.S. investment

Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia will invest heavily in the U.S. market.

Hyundai and corporate partner Kia announced on Tuesday a new plan that will see the automotive companies invest $3.1 billion in the United States over the next five years.

Although exact details of Hyundai-Kia's investment strategy are unknown at this time, the Korean automaker says the money could be used to build a new car factory in the U.S. or expand one of its existing facilities. Also on the table is a plan to build the company's new line of luxury Genesis models in the U.S., along with a new SUV.

"We expect a boost in the U.S. economy and increased demand for various models as President-elect Trump follows through on his promise to create one million jobs in five years,” Hyundai Motor President Chung Jin-haeng told Bloomberg. "We will actively consider introducing new models that have increasing demand and profits.”

Hyundai-Kia's announcement comes amid threats from president-elect Donald Trump to slap vehicle imports with a 35 percent tax. The announcement could be a play to appease the incoming administration. Although Hyundai-Kia makes about 730,000 vehicles in the U.S. each year at two different plants, Kia recently opened a $3 billion facility in Mexico that will export some production to the U.S.

Despite the optics of the announcement, Chung downplayed the influence of the incoming Trump administration over the company's business decisions. "The U.S. market is strategically a very important market for us and success or failure there is a barometer of our success globally,” Chung said. "Our interest in the U.S. market is consistent regardless of the government of the day.”

Over the last five-years Hyundai-Kia has invested $2.1 billion in the U.S.