Hankook Tire to suspend Hungary plant amid virus fears

SEOUL, March 25 (Yonhap) -- Hankook Tire & Technology Co., the world's sixth-largest tiremaker by sales, said Wednesday it will suspend its Hungary plant due to the spreading coronavirus outbreak.

The Hungary plant will stop operations from March 30 through April 7 to keep inventories at manageable levels amid suspensions of car manufacturing plants in Europe, a company spokesman said.

"As more carmakers are expected to suspend their production facilities amid virus fears, the company's global output facilities may be affected further," he said.

Last week, Hankook Tire's major clients Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. halted most of their plants in Europe to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in line with strict movement bans and lockdowns.

Hankook Tire has two domestic plants and six overseas plants -- one in the United States, one in Hungary, one in Indonesia and three in China -- whose combined capacity reaches 100 million units.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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