Hyundai, Kia to gradually restart S. Korea production

SEOUL: Hyundai Motor and sister firm Kia Motors will gradually increase production in South Korea from today, the companies said in a statement yesterday.

Hyundai last week became the first global automaker to suspend production outside China due to the coronavirus outbreak disrupting parts supply from China.

Earlier yesterday, Hyundai Motor’s union spokesman said that suppliers had resumed production in China yesterday and most of the automaker’s plants in South Korea were expected to resume production between today and next Tuesday.

“The (automakers’ South Korean) facilities will be flexibly operated in line with parts supply status,“the companies’ statement said.

A Kia official said earlier that the automaker had suspended most production at its three car plants in South Korea yesterday due to a shortage of parts.

Most of the production at Kia’s Gwangju and Sohari factories were to be suspended yesterday and today, the official said, adding the company will monitor the availability of auto parts in order to determine whether to resume production after that.

Kia’s Hwaseong factory halted output yesterday and is expected to resume production today, he said.

In a separate development, General Motors said in Beijing yesterday it would restart production in from Feb 15 in China.

Automakers in China had halted production for the Lunar New Year holidays in late January.

The US automaker would have a staggered start to production across plants with local partners over the next two weeks, a company spokeswoman told Reuters. She said the plan would be based on the readiness of supply chain and product inventory needs. – Reuters