Kia to suspend 2 domestic plants on virus impact

SEOUL, April 23 (Yonhap) -- Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker by sales, said Thursday it will temporarily suspend two of its eight domestic plants due to the coronavirus impact.

Kia plans to halt operations at the Sohari plant in Gwangmyeong, just south of Seoul, from April 27 to May 10 and again from May 22-25 to keep inventories at manageable levels, a company spokesman said by phone.

The maker of the K5 sedan and the Sorento sport utility vehicle is also in talks with the union of its plant in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, to take similar steps, he said.

The temporary suspension is aimed at flexibly responding to lower overseas demand as consumers opt not to visit dealerships due to virus fears, Kia said.

Currently, Kia operates eight domestic plants and three factories in China, while its plants in the United States, Mexico and India are suspended. Its total output capacity is 3.84 million units.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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