Hyundai Motor halts factories in Russia and Turkey

In the awake of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor plans to suspend the operation of its factories in Russia and Turkey. Accordingly, the company’s China and Mexico plants among its 12 global production bases will stay online.

According to Hyundai Motor on Friday, the automaker has stop its production plants in Izmit, Turkey from Friday for an indefinite period while its factories in St. Petersburg, Russia will stay offline for five consecutive days from Monday. The suspension decision came after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a paid holiday period from March 28 to April 5 in a special statement on Thursday in an effort to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The company’s factories in Russia have an annual production capacity of 230,000 local-customized compact SUVs while those in Turkey generating around 200,000 units of the i20 hatchback on a yearly basis, a flagship model in the European market.

Hyundai Motor has already put a halt to production plants in Alabama, the U.S., the Czech Republic, Brazil and India. Likewise, Kia Motors temporarily shut down its global factories in Slovakia and India. Kia’s plant in Georgia, the United States will be put on hold starting from Monday, albeit open as of now. Hyundai Motor Group’s global factories, which are currently offline or soon to close down, account for around 2.29 million units a year, 57 percent of the group’s annual production volume of 3.86 million units.


bjk@donga.com