Hyundai Motor idles production lines

SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Yonhap) -- Top South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said
Thursday it has again idled some of its production lines to cope with a rising
inventory of unsold vehicles.
A Hyundai factory in Ulsan, about 400 km southeast of Seoul, that builds its
Tucson sport-utility vehicles will close for nine days from Thursday until March
6, a company official said. Since December last year, Hyundai has intermittently
halted production at local plants.
Another factory in Asan, 85 km southwest of Seoul, that produces the Grandeur and
Sonata sedans will also be idled from March 6-9, the official said.
Amid the worldwide economic downturn, demand for small cars has continued to
gain, leading Hyundai to initiate talks with its union on adjusting production to
build more compact vehicles.
"As the economic recession lengthens, demand for small cars is likely to
increase. So we are taking steps to increase our production capacity of small
cars," the official said.
In January, Hyundai saw its vehicle sales drop 26.7 percent to 179,044 units as
the global economic slump battered worldwide demand for new cars.
Analysts say, however, that Hyundai is better positioned to ride out the
financial turmoil because of its line up of small cars and the South Korean
currency's weakness against the U.S. dollar.
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