[Kia Motors Conference Call] "88,000 Units Production Disruption in April Due to COVID-19"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Kia Motors announced on the 24th during the Q1 2020 earnings conference call that "the total global production disruption in April is approximately 88,000 units."

Currently, Kia's U.S. plant is expected to remain shut down until May 3, and the European plant is scheduled to resume operations after April 24. Kia stated, "Dealer average operating rates are maintained at about 50% in the U.S. and 45% in Europe," adding, "We are monitoring how quickly demand recovers and regional variables."

They continued, "For domestic plants, we expect a production disruption of 16,000 units this month," and "While exports have decreased by 28,000 units, we anticipate recovering 12,000 units through domestic sales." Furthermore, they said, "Since domestic sales remain strong, we will minimize disruptions to domestic production through flexible manufacturing."