Hyundai Resumes Production in China

Hyundai Motor Corp. has relaunched production at its four factories in China after resolving a supplier issue that forced the plants to shut down on Tuesday, The Nikkei reports.

The facilities were idled after a supplier of fuel tanks refused to ship more parts until it was paid. Hyundai acknowledged that its venture was unable to make the payment on time because of sagging sales. Korean reports indicated the unpaid bill was for about $17 million.

The carmaker says it was able to resolve the problem and resume production Wednesday afternoon.

Hyundai sales in China through the first half of 2017 plunged 42% to 301,000 units. June sales were down by two-thirds over the same month in 2016.

Overall demand for Korean brands in China began to evaporate earlier this year after South Korea took steps to deploy a U.S.-supplied anti-missile system in response to North Korea’s threats of attack. China called for economic retaliation.