Hyundai To Suspend IONIQ 5 Production Plant Over Semiconductors Shortage - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th March, 2021) Hyundai Motor Company said on Tuesday that it would suspend for a week the operation of its No. 1 factory in Ulsan that produces the IONIQ 5 all-electric vehicle, due to a global shortage of semiconductors, media reported.

According to the South Korean Yonhap news agency, the plant in Ulsan, located 250 miles southeast of Seoul, which also produces the Kona subcompact SUVs, will suspend operation from April 7-14.

The week-long suspension of the plant will result in the decrease of production of Kona and IQNIQ 5 vehicles by 6,000 and 5,000 units, respectively, the publication said.

The news comes 11 days after a fire broke out at Japanese chipmaking giant Renesas Electronics damaging 23 machine lines. Renesas Electronics CEO Hidetoshi Shibata said on Tuesday that the production of electronic products was expected to recover in three to four months.

Renesas Electronics' share in global chip production is nearly 20 percent. Their microcomputers are used in cars and consumer electronics, where demand has recently been on the rise due to a variety of factors, including the return to pre-pandemic production.