- 3 Major Production Belt System Completed in Asia, North America, and Europe… Targeting 10% Global Market Share
- Secured Annual Production Capacity of 1.2 Million Units, Establishing a Key Hub to Respond to Rapidly Growing European EV Market
- POSCO Group Maximizes Motor Efficiency with Hyper NO Steel Sheets and EMFree Technology
POSCO INTERNATIONAL (CEO Lee, Kye-In) has completed its European hub to target the global electric vehicle market.
With the completion of the Poland plant, POSCO INTERNATIONAL has established a production belt across Asia, North America, and Europe, aiming to achieve a 10% global market share by 2030. The Poland plant, with an annual production capacity of 1.2 million units, is expected to become a key production hub to meet the rapidly growing EV demand in Europe, driven by the EU’s 2035 zero-carbon emission policy for new vehicles.
The completion ceremony, held on October 1 (local time) in Brzeg, Opole Province, Poland, was attended by POSCO INTERNATIONAL CEO Lee Kye-In, Opole Province Governor Monika Jurek, and South Korean Ambassador to Poland Tae Jun-Yeol, among others. The Poland plant, built with an investment of 94.1 billion KRW on a 100,000 ㎡ site, will begin trial production in October and start full-scale mass production in December.
POSCO INTERNATIONAL prioritized safety throughout the construction process and successfully completed the project through systematic site management.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), EV sales in Europe are projected to reach 4 million units (25% of new vehicle sales) by 2025 and surpass 55% by 2030. The EU’s ban on internal combustion engine vehicle sales by 2035 is accelerating the shift to electric vehicles. As Hyundai-Kia ramp up their local EV production in Europe, demand for drive motor cores is expected to grow significantly.
With the completion of the Poland plant, POSCO INTERNATIONAL has completed its global drive motor core production network. It will establish a production system of 7.5 million units annually by 2030, with 2.5 million units in Korea (Pohang and Cheonan), 3.5 million in Mexico, 1.2 million in Poland, and 300,000 in India. This supports its ‘Local to Local’ strategy—producing and delivering components close to customer sites—enhancing responsiveness to regional market demands.
POSCO INTERNATIONAL’s drive motor cores incorporate POSCO Group’s non-oriented electrical steel sheets (Hyper NO) and proprietary EMFree technology. EMFree technology applies thin layers of adhesive for lamination, improving energy efficiency and minimizing noise and vibration compared to the conventional EMBO method—this enhances both EV driving range and in-cabin quietness.
POSCO INTERNATIONAL has already secured orders for 35 million drive motor cores through 2033. The Poland plant will initially supply 1.68 million units for Hyundai-Kia’s European EV production, with plans to expand its supply to other European automakers such as Volkswagen.
Sales from POSCO INTERNATIONAL’s drive motor core business are projected to grow from 450 billion KRW in 2025 to 1.5 trillion KRW by 2030.
POSCO INTERNATIONAL CEO Lee Kye-In stated, “The Poland drive motor core plant is a key hub for preemptively securing the European EV market,” adding, “POSCO Group will lead the future mobility market with its integrated group-wide capabilities such as EV-spec steel, battery materials, and components.”
Meanwhile, POSCO Group has established a system to seamlessly connect the new drive motor core plant with its existing steel processing center in Poland, enabling integrated supply of drive motor cores based on high-efficiency electrical steel sheets, along with premium steel. This will allow faster response to the needs of European automakers and parts manufacturers.
