Hyundai Motor to Halt Operations at Russia and Turkey Plants... All Stops Except South Korea and China

Russian Factory to Close for 5 Days Starting 30th
Turkey Also Halts Operations from 27th... Restart Date Uncertain

Hyundai Motor Ulsan Plant (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Hyundai Motor's global production bases are shutting down one after another due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Following the temporary closures of plants in the United States, Czech Republic, Brazil, and India, the factories in Russia and Turkey have also decided to halt operations. As a result, all Hyundai Motor plants except those in Korea and China have come to a complete stop.

According to industry sources on the 27th, Hyundai Motor's Russia plant will temporarily suspend production for five days starting from the 30th of this month. This closure follows the Russian government's declaration of a paid leave period from March 28 to April 5 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Excluding weekends, the actual leave period will be from March 30 to April 3.

Hyundai Motor's Saint Petersburg plant in Russia was established in 2011 and has an annual production capacity of 230,000 units. It produces local strategic models such as the Solaris, the compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) Creta, and Kia's Rio.

The Izmit plant in Turkey will also enter a shutdown starting today. The date for resuming operations has not been determined. Originally, Hyundai Motor planned to begin the shutdown next month, but it was reportedly moved up in consideration of the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Turkey. The Hyundai Motor Turkey plant has an annual production capacity of 200,000 units.

Thus, among Hyundai Motor's global production bases, all plants except those in Korea and China?including those in the United States, Czech Republic, India, Brazil, Russia, and Turkey?have ceased operations. The combined annual production capacity of these plants reaches 2 million units.

Not only Hyundai Motor but also Kia Motors' overseas plants are experiencing consecutive shutdowns. With Hyundai Motor's Russia and Turkey plants entering temporary closure today, the only overseas plant of Hyundai Kia Motors that has not yet decided to suspend operations, excluding China, is Kia Motors' plant in Mexico.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.