Global Plant Operating Rate Falls below 80%
The average plant operating rates of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. fell short of 80 percent in 2020.
The global plant operating rate averaged 84.1 percent for Hyundai Motor and 74.5 percent for Kia Corp. in 2020, according to the two companies’ 2020 Business Reports.
A plant’s operating rate is calculated by dividing its output during a certain period by its production capacity. The average operating rate of the two companies reached 79.9 percent in 2020, down 15.4 percentage points from 95.3 percent in 2019. This was the lowest ever figure since 2011 when the global factory operation rate began to be disclosed.
When it comes to Hyundai Motor alone, the Russian plant showed an operating rate of 109.6 percent in 2020. Elsewhere, the company posted 92.9 percent in Korea, 72.6 percent in North America, 74.5 percent in India, 72.3 percent in the Czech Republic, 71.7 percent in Brazil and 68.6 percent in Turkey.
Kia’s operating rate in Korea stood at 85.3 percent, the lowest in 15 years since 80.9 percent in 2005. Yet it was the highest among all of Kia’s plants around the world. Elsewhere, it marked 81.3 percent in Slovakia, 65.9 percent in the United States, 54.0 percent in India and 51.7 percent in Mexico.
Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp. produced a total of 5,338,048 units in 2020, a 13.3 percent drop from 6,153,664 units in 2019. Hyundai Motor's production fell 15.6 percent to 3,153,971 units, while that of Kia fell 9.6 percent to 2,184,077 units.