Hyundai Motor resumes production in Russia amid virus woes

MOSCOW, April 14 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, said Tuesday it has restarted vehicle production at its plant in Russia that was temporarily shut down due to the new coronavirus outbreak.

The resumption of the plant in St. Petersburg, which began Monday, is set to last through Friday with only an essential workforce.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a nationwide paid holiday from March 30 through April 3 in a move to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Putin later extended the period until April 30, though the Russian government allowed essential industries to resume operations.

The virus has infected more than 18,000 people and killed 148 others in Russia, according to Worldometer, a website that provides real-time statistics for the coronavirus pandemic.

The plant in St. Petersburg, which has an annual production capacity of 230,000 units, produces the Solaris (or Accent) subcompact, Creta crossover utility vehicle and Hyundai Motor affiliate Kia Motors Corp.'s Rio subcompact.

Hyundai has seven domestic plants and 10 overseas plants -- four in China and one each in the United States, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Russia, India and Brazil. Their combined capacity reaches 5.5 million vehicles.

Kia has eight domestic plants and seven overseas ones -- three in China and one each in the U.S., Slovakia, Mexico and India. Their overall capacity is 3.84 million units.

entropy@yna.co.kr
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