Hyundai Motor To Suspend Production At Asan Plant On Chip Shortage

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. announced its decision to suspend production at its Asan plant for two days starting on Monday due to a chip shortage amid the pandemic crisis, Reuters reported.

The company is experiencing trouble in supply conditions for semiconductor parts for powertrain control units. The Asan factory manufactures 300,000 vehicles, including the Sonata and Grandeur sedans, each year.

The report quoted the company as saying, “We are closely monitoring the situation to take prompt and necessary measures to optimize production in line with the supply conditions.”

Semiconductor chips are used in the infotainment, power steering and braking systems of a vehicle.

In recent weeks, global shortage of chip and other components during the coronavirus pandemic have been hurting major vehicle manufacturers worldwide, forcing them to take factory shut downs and productions cuts.

Last week, Hyundai had said it would suspend production at Ulsan, its main South Korean factory, from April 7 to April 14 due to chip and component supply issues.

Auto giant General Motors now said it has been forced to further cut production at six North American factories due to the shortage of semiconductors.

The issue has also affected Ford Motor Co., which last week announced cuts to production at six of its manufacturing plants in North America.

In mid-March, Japanese automakers Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. said they were temporarily halting production at their North American plants due to supply shortages of essential components.

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