Hyundai Motor To Temporarily Suspend Operations At US Plant On Account Of Chip Shortage, Maintenance Activity

Carmaker Hyundai Motor has announced to halt operations at its US plant. Hyundai Motor is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer. It is also Korea’s biggest carmaker by sales. The company said that it will soon suspend its plant in the US for three weeks. It said that there is a lack of semiconductors at the plant and also routine maintenance is required. According to the company, its Alabama plant will be suspended for one week. There is a chip shortage. The work will again be suspended for two weeks for the plant’s maintenance activities. The company noted that chip parts shortages have affected the production of vehicles in the recent past. Several other companies have also reported about the shortage they are facing. The shortage is not only reported in the US market but in other world markets as well due to the pandemic.

In May, Hyundai had to halt work at its lone Indian plant. The production was suspended for nearly five days. The company in a statement said that two of its workers were infected with Covid-19. On the domestic front, Hyundai Motor temporarily suspended some of its plants on account of chip shortage. The company has seven domestic plants. Five of its domestic plants are in Ulsan, a Metropolitan city in South Korea. Korean cities Asan and Jeonju also have one domestic plant each. There are 10 overseas plants. This includes four in China. The United States, Russia, the Czech Republic, India, Brazil, and Turkey have one plan each. Hyundai claims that its combined production capacity stands at 5.5 million vehicles.

Meanwhile, Hyundai’s affiliate Kia has temporarily halted operations at its USA plant. It has also halted the domestic plant in Gwangmyeong. Kia too had to halt operations due to the shortage of chip parts of vehicles. Kia is the second-largest automobile manufacturer in South Korea after Hyundai. The company said that it is considering changing the three-shift system at its Georgia facility. The company could introduce a two-shift system. It is the only automaker in Georgia. It is spread in an area covering nearly 2,200 acres. Kia with its parent company Hyundai is the fifth-biggest carmaker in the world in terms of sales.