Hyundai, Kia’s swap between overseas

Hyundai Motors Co. will shuffle production of two models between its Czech factory and a plant operated in neighboring Slovakia by the carmaker’s affiliate, Kia Motors Corp.

The factory near Zilina, Northern Slovakia, will take over production of Kia Venga compact cars, which are currently assembled in the Czech Republic, according to Dusan Dvorak, spokesman for the unit. Similarly, production of Hyundai-brand ix35 sport-utility vehicles will move to Slovakia from Hyundai’s Czech plant located in Nosovice.

The two factories already produce some parts for each other and the reshuffle will help rebalance capacity utilization between the two factories, Dvorak said in a phone interview Thursday from Zilina. The South Korean carmaking group expects demand for SUVs to continue growing while interest in compact cars is set to stagnate, he said.

Kia also produces cee’d compact cars as well as Sportage SUVs in Slovakia, while Hyundai’s Czech plant assembles i30 and ix20 compact cars. Both factories are capable of producing 300,000 cars a year. 

(Bloomberg)