By Ahmed Rahma
A South Korean multinational automotive manufacturer, Hyundai Motor Company, said it plans to temporarily suspend production at its Ulsan number one plant in South Korea.
As reported on Monday by Korea Economic Daily, the suspension, which is starting from April 5 to April 13, is due to a shortage of chip.
The affected Ulsan factory, according to the report, produces 311,000 vehicles annually, including the Kona Electric and Ioniq 5.
“No decision has been made on the reported temporary suspension of the facility,” Hyundai headquartered in Seoul said in a statement to Reuters.
The Korea Economic Daily said the production at Hyundai’s Ulsan number one plant is being suspended due to supply issues regarding chips and power electric modules.
Underscoring the severity of the chip shortage crisis, Hyundai, until recently one of the automakers least affected due to prudent stockpiling, has become the latest automaker to halt manufacturing due to the chip shortage.
It was reported last month that Hyundai had been able to avoid a hit from the shortage so far largely because it maintained a stockpile of chips, unlike its global peers.
Last week, Honda Motor and General Motors both announced that they would continue production suspension at plants in North America for the coming weeks, citing the chip shortage as one of several reasons.
A confluence of factors including factory shutdowns, booming demand for laptops and tablets, and sanctions against Chinese tech companies caused a global shortage of chips to rattle the electronics sector in December.
Originally concentrated in the auto industry, the shortage has widened to affect a range of consumer electronics, including smartphones.
