Hyundai and Kia to slash overseas production

South Korea - Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp, two of South Korea's top car manufacturers, are cutting production as the economic crisis hits auto demand globally.

"We entered reduction in output of all overseas lines except the new Czech Republic factory," said Hyundai spokesperson Jake Jang.

Hyundai and affiliate Kia Motors Corp currently run overseas production lines in the US, China, Turkey, India and the Czech Republic.

According to Kia spokesman Michael Choo, the company started adjusting production volumes at plants in China and Slovakia since late October this year.

Hyundai's sales in the US, its biggest overseas market, plummeted 40% in November, while sales at Kia dropped 37% from last year.

Jang also said Hyundai had cut its US annual production target to 245,000 units from 260,000 units.

Kia initially planned to build 225,000 vehicles in Slovakia.