Hyundai has delayed the launch of the new Genesis G80 yet again following its decision to idle production at all seven of its plants in South Korea due to a lack of parts from suppliers in China impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.
The New York Times reports that a number of plants in China responsible for the production of parts needed by Hyundai have been shut down due to the spread of coronavirus.
In a statement, the South Korean automaker confirmed the move, saying it had “decided to suspend its production lines from operating at its plants in Korea,” adding that “the decision is due to disruptions in the supply of parts resulting from the coronavirus outbreak in China.”
It remains unclear by how much the Genesis G80 will be delayed as no one knows how long the coronavirus emergency will last and how much it will grow.
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Al Jazeera reports that Hyundai’s South Korean factories will be fully idled from February 7, 2020 with some production lines expected to restart on February 11 or February 12. Industry officials say the move follows a specific shortage of wiring harnesses from suppliers Kyungshin and Yura Corporation. The suppliers say they are trying to boost production at factories in South Korea and Southeast Asia to compensate for disruptions in China.
Recent spy images of the Genesis G80 have revealed it will be outfitted with the same quad headlights and quad taillights as the recently-revealed GV80 SUV. It will also adopt a triangular front grille.
The car was originally penciled in for a reveal in April last year but that date came and went and in August, Genesis boss Manfred Fitzgerald said it would instead launch in September 2019. That didn’t happen either because of a delay related to the 2.5-liter Turbo Theta III and 3.5-liter Turbo Lambda III engines the G80 will use in select markets.
Correction: the original version of the article mistakenly said it’s the “facelifted” G80, when in fact it’s an all-new model.
