On Tuesday, Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-biggest carmaker by sales, declared that one of its eight domestic plants would be suspended until early September due to a fire in its paint shop.
The blaze occurred in the No. 3 factory in Hwaseong, located south of Seoul, and damaged eight industrial robots in the paint shop, according to a company spokesperson.
The No. 3 Autoland Hwaseong plant, which produces the K5 sedan, the K8 sedan, and the all-electric EV6 SUV, will remain closed until September 6.
Kia believes a spark in the robot cables caused the fire in the paint shop, and is doing all it can to resume operations as quickly as possible.
Kia has eight plants in South Korea, two in Gwangmyeong, three in Hwaseong, and three in Gwangju, as well as six overseas, two in China and one each in the United States, Slovakia, Mexico, and India. Their combined annual capacity is 3.84 million units.
This file photo provided by Hyundai Motor Group shows Kia Corp.'s Autoland Hwaseong plant. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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