Sluggish sales of the Sonata drastically reduce work at the Asan plant in Korea
Avante goes well, but there is no supply at the Ulsan 3 plant due to the discontinuation of Ioniq and i30
Send some domestic factories in Tucson, Alabama, USA, and bring Sonata and Avante
Hyundai Sonata
Hyundai Motors brings part of the volume that was made at its Alabama factory in the United States to its domestic factory. This is a measure to solve the shortage of work in some domestic factories. This is the first time that Hyundai Motors has moved overseas factories to Korea.
According to the automobile industry on the 7th, Hyundai Motor Company explained to the labor union that it would turn 70,000 units of Sonata and Avante produced at the Alabama plant to the Asan plant and Ulsan plant 3 through a recent management briefing. Instead, it passes part of the Tucson supply to the Alabama plant. Until now, the Ulsan Plant 2 and the Ulsan Plant 5 made Tucson and exported it to the United States.
The reason why Hyundai Motor Company chose the complex’transfer of quantity’ is because the quantity of production between factories varies greatly. The work at the Asan plant has decreased significantly as the midsize sedan Sonata was sluggish. Sonata sold more than 10,000 units on average per month until 2019, but sales have plummeted since last year. Last month, sales fell to 3612 units. It was also pushed out of the top 10 domestic sales. It is interpreted as a result of the customers who had chosen the Sonata moved to semi-large sedans (Grandeur, K7, etc.) or sports utility vehicles (SUVs). There is also an analysis that the design of the completely modified model (8th generation) released in March 2019 was fueled by poor sales due to dislikes.
The Granger, which is produced at the Asan plant along with the Sonata, continues to enjoy popularity, but it is not easy to rapidly change the production ratio of the two vehicles due to the supply and demand of parts and consultations with the union. Without Sonata, there is no choice but to turn the empty conveyor belt. Ulsan Plant 3 was hit directly by the discontinuation of Ioniq and i30 and sluggish venue. It means that there is no volume to be produced in large quantities other than Avante.
The Ulsan Plant 2, which has decided to release Tucson, is unlikely to run out of supplies for the time being. Santa Fe and Palisade are selling steadily, and the Genesis GV80 and GV70 are also performing above expectations. From August, the electric vehicle GV60 applied with a dedicated platform (E-GMP) will be produced at Ulsan Plant 2. This means that it is not unreasonable to move the Tucson from this factory to the Alabama factory.
It is possible to pass the quantity of Tucson from Ulsan Plant 2 to the Asan Plant, but in this case, it is said that there are difficulties, such as having to repair the production facilities of the Asan Plant. In addition, there are many concerns that the adjustment of the quantity between domestic factories could lead to a reaction against the union. Hyundai Motor Company tried to move some of its sales to Ulsan Plant 2 as the sales volume of Palisade made at Ulsan Plant 5 in 2019 surged, but the union revolt continued for several months and lost about 20,000 contracts.
It is also a strategy to increase US sales in Tucson. Tucson recently sold about 10,000 units per month in the United States. Together with Santa Fe, it is the most sold model in the United States. An industry insider said, “Hyundai Motor brought some of the Avante and Sonata products to Korea is an inevitable choice made because of the unbalanced sales of each model and the rigid production system. In the long term, it is necessary to secure production flexibility by making it easier to switch production volumes by factory. He pointed out.
Reporter Do Byeong-wook [email protected]
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