Hyundai Motor's Russian Plant Sees Sharp Drop in Operating Rate in Q1 Amid 'Ukraine Crisis'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Due to the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the operating rate of Hyundai Motor's Russian plant in the first quarter of this year sharply declined, and its business performance turned to a loss.

According to the quarterly report disclosed by Hyundai Motor on the 16th, the operating rate of the Saint Petersburg plant in Russia in the first quarter was 83.3%. This is 47 percentage points lower than 130.3% in the first quarter of last year.

Hyundai Motor suspended operations at the Saint Petersburg plant from March 1, just a few days after Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February. The timing for resuming operations remains uncertain.

As the plant's operating rate fell, the Russian plant recorded a net loss of 2.932 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year.

Kia's Russian subsidiary also saw first-quarter sales of about 640.2 billion KRW, down approximately 37.3 billion KRW from sales of about 1.0132 trillion KRW in the same period last year. This indicates a significant decrease in local sales in Russia this year. However, Kia Russia's first-quarter net profit increased to about 66.8 billion KRW, up from about 38.4 billion KRW in the first quarter of last year.