Hyundai Motor to suspend some South Korea output due to component sourcing issues

[SEOUL] South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co plans to temporarily suspend production at its Ulsan No1 plant in South Korea due to component sourcing issues between April 5 and April 13, according to the automaker's union.

The factory 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 said in a statement to Reuters.

The union said the component issues involve front view cameras and power electric modules.

Korea Economic Daily reported on Monday that the global microchip shortage has affected manufacturing front view cameras for Hyundai's Kona vehicles.

Hyundai was until recently one of the automakers least affected by the chip shortage, largely because it maintained a large stockpile of chips unlike its global peers, Reuters reported last month.

Last week, Honda Motor Co Ltd and General Motors Co both announced that they would continue production suspensions 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 the shortage of chips in December.

Originally concentrated in the auto industry, the shortage has widened to affect a range of consumer electronics, including smartphones.

REUTERS