Hyundai suspends production of electric vehicles due to chip shortage

Due to the shortage of chips, the South Korean auto industry has also suffered a heavy blow. On the 7th local time, Hyundai Motor’s first plant in Ulsan, South Korea, which produces electric vehicles Kona and IONIQ5 models, entered a one-week suspension of production.

It is reported that the front camera system of the Kona model lacks semiconductor components, and Hyundai Mobis is responsible for the production line of traction motors for IONIQ 5.

Due to the suspension of production, the company expects Kona to have 6,000 vehicles, and IONIQ 5 will have 6,500 production losses. Taking into account the 3000 pre-orders of IONIQ 5 in Europe last month and the nearly 24,000 pre-orders on the first day of domestic sales on February 25, the suspension will affect the overall sales of IONIQ 5.

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On February 23, Hyundai Motor officially released IONIQ 5, which is the first model based on Hyundai Motor Group’s dedicated electric global modular platform (E-GMP). It was originally planned to launch IONIQ 5 in Europe last month, but the release was delayed due to parts issues.

Hyundai Motor also announced that for the same reason, it is considering suspending its Asan plant, 100 kilometers south of Seoul, which is responsible for the production of Grandeur large sedan and Sonata mid-size sedan.

Hyundai has seven factories in Korea, five of which are in Ulsan, one in Asan, and one in Jeonju; there are ten overseas factories, four of which are in China, in the United States, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Russia, India, and Brazil Each has one. The total annual production capacity of these plants amounts to 5.5 million vehicles.