Hyundai again halts local factories over chip shortages

SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. is grappling with automotive chip shortages, which have disrupted production of its popular models in local factories, industry officials said Tuesday.

Hyundai Motor plans to temporarily halt the Asan plant, about 100 kilometers south of Seoul, from Wednesday to Friday, due to lack of automotive chips, company officials said.

The latest suspension comes only days after the automaker idled the plant, which produces the Sonata sedan and Santa Fe SUV, for two days last week for the same reason.

Its mainstay plant in Ulsan, 414 km southeast of Seoul, also has been closed since Monday due to chip supply shortages, which disrupted production of the Palisade SUV, Staria van and Porter pickup truck.

Hyundai Motor is one of several global automakers that have been forced to cut back production due to chip shortages in the wake of the COVID-19 surge in Malaysia, a major assembly hub of semiconductors and auto parts.

The automaker earlier expected the supply crunch to ease in the third quarter, but industry watchers expect the automaker could lower the annual production target due to the lasting chip shortages.

ejkim@yna.co.kr
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