April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Motor is cutting down on its production of Sonata and Elantra cars in the US due to sluggish sales, according to industry sources on April 6.

Instead, the Korean carmaker plans to beef up production of the more popular Santa Fe SUV, with a focus on its new model debuting in July. At the same time, Hyundai will stop placing OEM orders with Kia Motors’ Georgia plant for the Santa Fe production, possibly as early as May.

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo visits the carmaker's Alabama plant.

A Hyundai spokesperson confirmed the plan but declined to call it “a reduction,” saying the company is just adjusting the production plans according to car sales.

The US car market has been mostly a boon for SUVs and pickups in recent years. Sales of Hyundai’s Sonata and Elantra sedans plunged 33.9 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively, last year.

It seems unavoidable for Kia’s Georgia plant to experience some production losses for a few months as it plans to focus on reducing its inventory to make ends meet.

Hyundai’s Alabama plant produced a total of 328,006 vehicles last year, including 131,279 units of Elantra, 138,276 Sonata sedans and 58,451 Santa Fe cars. Kia’s Georgia plant produced 73,975 Santa Fe vehicles along with 96,444 units of Optima and 121,562 Sorento cars.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)