Hyundai Motor Mfg. Alabama in Montgomery, the sole North American manufacturing plant of Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd., will be down three days this month as demand for the Sonata midsize sedan built there slows.
A HMMA spokesman says production at the plant was down today, and is set to be down Oct. 12 and 19, as well.
Ward’s data shows Hyundai had a 99-day supply of Sonatas at the end of September, up from from 57 last month and 69 year-ago.
Sales of U.S.-built Sonatas slipped in September vs. like-2006 by 24.1%.
Hyundai also builds the Santa Fe midsize cross/utility vehicle at Montgomery, sales of which were up 25.4% last month.
The downtime will affect Santa Fe as they are built on the same line, although the spokesman says Hyundai should still be able to meet demand for the vehicle.
Hyundai’s Montgomery plant has a 300,000-unit annual capacity but 2007 production will be under that figure, the spokesman says.
