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Hyundai Idles Factories in China

Hyundai Motor Corp. is suspending car production at all four of its assembly plants in China for one week, apparently to trim dealer inventories of unsold cars.

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Hyundai Motor Corp. is suspending car production at all four of its assembly plants in China for one week, apparently to trim dealer inventories of unsold cars.

Hyundai says the temporary shutdowns are for maintenance. But South Korea’s ChosunBiz.com reports that the company’s sales in China have slumped this month because of Chinese economic pressure against South Korea for deploying a U.S. missile defense system. The system was installed in response to North Korea’s ballistic rocket and nuclear weapon tests.

ChosunBiz says Hyundai will idle its new small-car factory in Cangzhou beginning April 1. The facility opened in Hebei province last October. At the time, Hyundai said Cangzhou’s eventual 300,000-unit annual output would raise the company’s annual production capacity in China to 2.4 million units.

Hyundai operates in China through Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., a joint venture with BAIC Motor Corp. The partnership has three assembly plants in Jiangsu province. The venture is scheduled to open a fifth production facility, this one in Chongqing, later this year.

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