Renault Korea Motors shuts down Busan plant for 10 days

Renault Korea this month will stop operating its Busan plant for about 10 days in a desperate bid to reduce inventory, which has soared due to plummeting domestic sales.

Industry sources on Monday said the company tentatively decided to suspend operations at its plant for 10 weekdays this month. The period comprises line reorganization of three days for hybrid vehicle output with China's Geely Auto, which will release its models on the domestic market next year, and a seven-day shutdown to reduce production. 

Aside from the 10 days, national holidays such as Children's Day on Friday and weekends mean the facility will remain idle this month for about 20 days.

Renault Korea’s sluggish domestic sales have apparently worsened this year. While its sales rose from 2,116 units in January to 2,218 in February and 2,636 in March, they plummeted to an estimated 1,800 last month.

The internal forecast for this month is only 1,500, or lower than that of last month. March, when the company saw its highest monthly sales this year, also saw a plunge of 40.9% from the same month last year.

"More plant shutdowns are expected in June," a company source said. "We're trying a number of things to boost domestic sales."

Write to Sung-Soo Bae at baebae@hankyung.com