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Carmaker Hyundai warns of serious supply disruption | Carmaker Hyundai warns of serious supply disruption |
(40 minutes later) | |
Hyundai, South Korea's top carmaker, has warned of a severe production disruption, because of a shortage of engine parts. | Hyundai, South Korea's top carmaker, has warned of a severe production disruption, because of a shortage of engine parts. |
A strike at parts supplier Yoosung Enterprise has affected production, and it could get worse on Tuesday. | |
"Our production may be seriously affected starting today," a Hyundai spokeswoman told BBC News. | "Our production may be seriously affected starting today," a Hyundai spokeswoman told BBC News. |
Yoosung manufactures piston rings, which are key components in car engines. | Yoosung manufactures piston rings, which are key components in car engines. |
Hyundai has already suspended production of diesel engines at its Ulsan plant and has warned a shortage of parts could also force it to stop production of petrol or gasoline engines. | |
Hyundai said the supply disruption could also hit its subsiduary car manufacturer Kia Motors. | |
Yoosung also supplies parts to the Korean units of General Motors and Renault. | |
Engine parts | |
The supplier halted production last week, after employees clashed with management over wages. | |
Hyundai said its engine inventory would start to dry up on May 24. | |
The disruption comes as South Korean carmakers are poised to take market share from their Japanese rivals, which are suffering from parts shortages of their own. | |
Hyundai reported record profits in the final three months of last year, due in part to strong overseas sales in China and the US. | |
Analysts had been expecting the carmaker, the fifth-biggest in the world, to continue to perform well in 2011. | |
A serious disruption could force the experts to revise those forecasts. |