South Korea’s Hyundai Wia Corp., an auto parts making unit under Hyundai Motor Group, has plugged off its factory in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, from Monday to Thursday due to lack of work amid slumped overseas shipments for Kia Motors’ compact cars Morning and Ray.

“Most of the engines manufactured at Pyeongtaek factory are mounted on Kia Motors’ mini cars,” according to an official from Hyundai Motor Group. “The plunge in production of Kia Motors caused by the pandemic has led to a temporary shutdown of Hyundai Wia’s engine manufacturing.”

The official, however, denied the rumor that the factory closed down on the falling engine parts supplies from India.

Hyundai Wia mostly provides engines, universal joints and four-wheel driving systems to Hyundai Motor and its smaller sibling Kia Motors. It supplies various vehicle modules for Kia’s large-sized sedan K9, sports car Stinger and family SUV Carnival, and has recently begun producing platform modules that combine a chassis module and transmission module. Last year, it generated 7.31 trillion won in sales.

Kia Motors also said Monday that Donghee Auto, the original equipment manufacturing (OEM) company that produces its compact car models suspended manufacturing for a week from Monday. The factory in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, has been producing Ray and Morning vehicles since 2004 on an OEM basis, and its annual capacity amounts to around 240,000 units.

By Oh Chan-jong, Lee Jong-hyuk and Choi Mira

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