Auto Parts Manufacturers Also Affected
Hyundai Motor Co. has temporarily shut down one of its plants in Ulsan City due to the ongoing automotive chip shortage. The seven-day shutdown until April 14 will halt Kona production and the curtailment for this month is estimated at 6,000 units.
According to industry sources, a series of halts are likely to follow in Hyundai and the company is already considering shutting down its Asan Plant, where the Grandeur and Sonata sedans are produced. This is because the supply of power control units for overall electronic control is currently not smooth with its inventory running out.
The global chip shortage is affecting auto parts manufacturers as well. According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association’s recent survey, 48.1 percent of 53 auto parts manufacturers are reducing their production and 72 percent are predicting that the shortage will not end this year. “64 percent of those reducing their production are cutting it by less than 20 percent and the rest are doing so within 50 percent,” the agency explained.
Global automakers such as Volkswagen, GM and Honda are already taking a direct hit, too. Besides, the shortage is likely to continue for a while as the cold wave in Texas is hampering chip production and the fire accident at Renesas Electronics, the third-largest manufacturer in the global automotive semiconductor industry, is compounding the matter.