President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company Jose Munoz speaks during the AutoMobility LA Auto Show at the LA Convention Center in Los Angeles, Calif., Nov. 21, 2024. EPA-Yonhap

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks after a meeting with Republicans in Congress at the Capitol building in Washington, Wednesday (local time). Reuters-Yonhap

Hyundai Motor Company donated $1 million to the inauguration of U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump, scheduled for Jan. 20 (local time), the major Korean carmaker announced Sunday.

This is the first time that the company has donated money for the inauguration of an American president.

The company announced that its president and CEO, Jose Munoz, will attend the inauguration and related events in the United States. Munoz was appointed last November, with his role becoming effective this year.

The company's donation follows the start of construction on the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) in Georgia in 2022. It will be the group's first electric vehicle (EV) plant dedicated to mass production, expected to be completed by the end of June.

HMGMA is expected to produce up to 500,000 EVs per year including the company's flagship models like the IONIQ series, Kia's EV lineup and Genesis. The company said HMGMA will produce up to 70 percent of the company's export vehicles for the U.S. market.

Industry experts suggest Hyundai's donation is aimed at fostering a more favorable environment for imported cars under the incoming Trump administration.

Following his election victory last November, Trump threatened to raise tariffs on all imports by up to 20 percent to encourage the consumption of U.S.-made goods.

These worrying statements concern Korean carmakers exporting to the U.S., including those with manufacturing plants there, such as Hyundai Motor Company, because they still rely on parts shipped from outside the country to assemble their vehicles.

Trump stated last November that he would impose a new 25 percent tariff on car-related imports from Canada and Mexico, disregarding the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which went into effect in 2020. According to research analyst Wards Intelligence, the U.S. last year imported 16 percent of domestically sold vehicles from Mexico and 7 percent from Canada.

Market research firm Wolfe Research also said that if the new tariff becomes a reality, vehicles in the U.S. market with parts imported from Canada or Mexico will see their retail prices rise by about $3,000.

Hyundai Motor said following its donation that it “welcomes working with the new U.S. administration which endorses American manufacturing sectors and desires to protect the country's supply chain.”

Hyundai Motor's donation came after other global carmakers, including General Motors, Ford and Toyota, also donated to the same cause.