Beijing Hyundai Denies Olympics Will Cause Production Losses

Beijing Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. will maintain production during the two months of the Beijing Summer Olympics and Beijing Paralympics and will not lose volume or sales because of stringent traffic restrictions, a company insider in Beijing tells Ward’s.

The source denies a report by the Maeil Business Daily in South Korea that the auto maker’s two Chinese plants will lose a combined 50,000 units due to supplier trucks being restricted from entering the city from July 30-Sept. 20.

“Because of (strict) Olympic emissions regulations, some supplier trucks that cannot meet Euro 3 and 4 standards (will) not (be) permitted to come into the Beijing area,” he says. “This has caused us to slightly reduce our production volumes during the period.

“However, we were aware of the planned restrictions long ago, and we took action to solve the problem. We worked closely with suppliers and adjusted our production in line with delivery forecasts. We significantly increased (vehicle) production and built inventory to cover any production shortfalls.”

The insider also reminds that Hyundai’s 50/50 joint-venture partner, Beijing Automotive Industry Corp., is an entity of the regional government, and both Sonata EF models and Elantras built by the JV are supplied to the city for its 80,000 taxi fleet.

Beijing Hyundai opened its second plant in the Shunyi district, near the Beijing International Airport, in April. The new plant, along with its sister facility, have advanced pollution-containment features.

Additionally, Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. has a new program under way to convert 500 sq.-miles (1,295 sq.-km) of the Kunshantag desert in nearby Outer Mongolia to grasslands to protect China and Korea from the annual yellow-dust storms that blanket the region each spring and summer.