Hyundai to cut back Sonata and Santa Fe production

Hyundai has released a statement saying that it will idle its Alabama factory for 11 days between now and the end of 2008 due to reduced demand for the Sonata sedan Santa Fe SUV. The 11 days will be scheduled on Fridays starting Oct. 24th and around the holidays.

From the beginning of this year through Sept. Santa Fe sales were down 15 percent to 66,619 units. Sonata sales were down 1.9 percent to 99,315.

The Alabama factory has a capacity of producing 300,000 vehicles annually. Up until Oct. 11, the factory has produced a total of 205,938, down from 209,710 vehicles for the same period in last year.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)