We’ve written extensively about the Hyundai Santa Fe and its capabilities on this blog. Today we’re going to look at where the Santa Fe is made. This seems to be a straightforward question, but this car consists of many components (engine, transmission, tires, etc.) made in different parts of the world. Let’s start with a quick answer:
The fourth generation of the Hyundai Santa Fe sold in the United States is assembled in Montgomery, Alabama. It gets its engines from the same manufacturing plant. The transmission and the seating of the Santa Fe are made at Hyundai TRANSYS in West Point, Georgia.
However, that certainly doesn’t answer the question entirely. Below, we’ll first dive into detail about the assembly location. After, that we’ll give you the complete rundown of where the engines are made, and we’ll do the same for all transmissions used in this vehicle. Finally, we’ll talk about how to identify which tires you have and where they are manufactured precisely. Read on!
Also read: How Many Miles Can A Hyundai Santa Fe Last? (Answered)
Assembly Locations Per Generation
The first generation of the Hyundai Santa Fe, manufactured between 2000 – 2006, was assembled in four different locations worldwide. These include Ulsan, South Korea; Hawtai, China; Taganrog, Russia; and Cairo, Egypt.
The second generation of the Santa Fe was also the first generation assembled in the United States. Assembly took place in Montgomery, Alabama, and West Point, Georgia. Other assembly locations included Ulsan, South Korea; Kulim, Malaysia; Cairo, Egypt; and Chennai, India.
For the third generation assembly of the Santa Fe was expanded worldwide. All assembly locations used for the second generation were still in use, although it now also included Beijing, China; Ninh Binh, Vietnam; Kaliningrad, Russia; and Tiaret, Algeria.
The fourth generation of the Santa Fe is assembled in Ulsan, South Korea; Montgomery, Alabama; Beijing, China; Kulim, Malaysia; and Ninh Binh, Vietnam.
Also read: The Types Of Gas A Hyundai Santa Fe Takes (Explained)
Want to know more about where this Hyundai is made? And where the technology, software, body parts and headlights are made? Check out this article where we take an in-depth look at Hyundai: This Is Where Hyundai Cars Are Made
Engines
It’s almost impossible to know where all the engines for all the Hyundai Santa Fe are manufactured. This is also because some of the Santa Fe’s are already 20 years old, and their information is scarce. However, we can establish this for some model years.
Likely, the engines for the first generation of the Hyundai Santa Fe were made in Ulsan, South Korea. The reason for this is that this is Hyundais largest manufacturing plant, and the first generation of this SUV wasn’t sold in the United States (also, at that time, Hyundai didn’t have a manufacturing plant in the USA).
The second, third, and fourth generations of the American-made Santa Fe engines are manufactured at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Plant in Montgomery, Alabama. Hyundai manufactures many different cars here, such as the Santa Fe and the Elantra. The plant also manufactures 700,000 Hyundai engines per year destined for the American market.
Transmissions And Seating
Just as with the engines, it’s challenging to figure out where all of them have been made precisely. Again, it’s very likely that the first, and in this case part of the second generation, got their transmissions from the manufacturing plant in Ulsan, South Korea.
However, for part of the second generation and the third and fourth one, it’s almost a given that these transmissions have been made at the Hyundai TRANSYS plant in West Point, Georgia, which opened in 2008. Hyundai TRANSYS is a subsidiary of the Hyundai Motor Company. The plant manufacturers automatic/manual/dual-clutch and CVT transmissions for Hyundai cars sold in the United States.
Furthermore, this plant is also responsible for making the seating for Hyundai cars sold in the American market.
Also read: Hyundai Santa Fe Transmission: Overview, Problems, Fluids
Tires
Unfortunately, Hyundai has no information available about what brand of tires come stock on the Santa Fe. Therefore, it’s impossible to give information about this. However, there is a way to figure this out yourself.
Suppose you want to know exactly where the tires of your Hyundai Santa Fe are made, then you can look up the DOT code on the side of your tires. This code is not that large, so you’ll have to take a moment to find it. It’s an extended code of letters and numbers that starts with the letters ‘DOT’. DOT stands for Department Of Transportation.
After the DOT letters, you’ll find a combination of three letters, numbers, or a mix. You can search on the internet for the specific three number/letter combination you have to find the exact manufacturer and location where the tires are made. For example, ‘1M3’. In this case, 1M3 indicates Michelin makes the tire in Greenville, South Carolina.
Is The Hyundai Santa Fe American-Made?
The first generation of the Hyundai Santa Fe is not American-made, with most production happening in Ulsan, South Korea, and other parts of the world. The second, third, and fourth generations of the Santa Fe sold in the United States are American-made with assembly and engine manufacturing in Montgomery, Alabama. Furthermore, the transmissions and seating are made in West Point, Georgia.
Also read: 12 Severe Problems Of The Hyundai Santa Fe
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai_Santa_Fe
- https://alabamanewscenter.com/2018/06/01/hyundais-new-engine-plant-santa-fe-will-drive-future-automakers-alabama-operations/
Hi! My name is Stefan; I’m the owner and lead writer at TheDriverAdviser.com.
I’m an active writer on this blog myself, as well as a novice car mechanic. For the really technical stuff, I find writers with experience as a mechanic or who have studied mechanical engineering.
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