Photo: autoevolution
Hyundai has recently confirmed another temporary production halt at one of its factories, this time in the U.S. state of Alabama where the company makes the Sonata, Elantra, and Santa FE models.
The South Korean company says the operations at this plant will be suspended for five days from June 14 due to the lack of semiconductors, with the company also planning additional downtime because of its typical maintenance.
Hyundai has emphasized that idling factories is a decision that solely affects the company’s production lines, as Kia’s factory in Georgia will continue to run normally.
This isn’t the first time Hyundai turns to temporary halts of its operations to deal with the chip crisis, as the company previously shut down the manufacturing lines at its local plant in Asan, Korea.
And at the same time, Hyundai isn’t the only carmaker turning to such a decision, as the whole industry has been hit hard by the lack of semiconductors, with some companies even deciding to sell certain models without a number of systems simply because they lacked the necessary chips to power them.
General Motors, for example, has recently revealed that some 2021 models sold by the brands it owns would be available for purchase without start-stop systems because of the semiconductor shortage. The company is offering a $50 price cut on this model, yet it emphasizes customers wouldn’t be able to upgrade their cars with start-stop at a later time.
Research estimates that the production of some 4 million cars would be impacted by the lack of semiconductors this year alone, though industry experts warn the crisis could continue into 2022 despite all the efforts to create chip inventory and avoid any production impact.
The good news is that more companies are expanding their chip manufacturing operations, including Intel, with the target of beginning building semiconductors for the automotive market by the end of the year.
Hyundai has emphasized that idling factories is a decision that solely affects the company’s production lines, as Kia’s factory in Georgia will continue to run normally.
This isn’t the first time Hyundai turns to temporary halts of its operations to deal with the chip crisis, as the company previously shut down the manufacturing lines at its local plant in Asan, Korea.
And at the same time, Hyundai isn’t the only carmaker turning to such a decision, as the whole industry has been hit hard by the lack of semiconductors, with some companies even deciding to sell certain models without a number of systems simply because they lacked the necessary chips to power them.
General Motors, for example, has recently revealed that some 2021 models sold by the brands it owns would be available for purchase without start-stop systems because of the semiconductor shortage. The company is offering a $50 price cut on this model, yet it emphasizes customers wouldn’t be able to upgrade their cars with start-stop at a later time.
Research estimates that the production of some 4 million cars would be impacted by the lack of semiconductors this year alone, though industry experts warn the crisis could continue into 2022 despite all the efforts to create chip inventory and avoid any production impact.
The good news is that more companies are expanding their chip manufacturing operations, including Intel, with the target of beginning building semiconductors for the automotive market by the end of the year.
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