SOURCE-AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Hyundai Motor Co. needs more factory capacity in the United States and will announce plans to expand production within the next month or so, John Krafcik, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, said today.
The automaker’s plant in Alabama, which makes the Sonata sedan and Santa Fe crossover, is running at maximum overtime right now and still struggling to meet sales demands, Krafcik said at the CAR Management Briefing Seminars here.
He declined to say what shape the new U.S. production would take, but said, “We know we have to grow U.S. production.”
Hyundai set a U.S. sales record for July, with 54,106 units sold – up 19 percent from a year ago. It was the fourth month ever that Hyundai’s U.S. sales topped 50,000 units.
The automaker’s year-to-date U.S. sales are up 24 percent to 309,888 units, in an overall market that is up 15 percent.
Hyundai had a 37-days supply of cars and trucks on hand on Aug. 1, down from 41 days on July 1, and well below the industry normal of 60-days supply.
