BUDAPEST (Reuters) -- Suzuki's car plant in Hungary has operated at a reduced capacity for some time and the scaled-back production will continue for the rest of the year, the daily newspaper Napi Gazdasag reported today.
Suzuki is keeping its target output of 150,000 vehicles for Esztergom, northwest Hungary, Suzuki spokeswoman Viktoria Ruska told the paper.
The factory has operated one shift instead of the usual two as it ceased production of two models, the Splash small minivan and the SX4 small SUV, and prepares for the production of the new Vitara from early 2015, Ruska said.
Suzuki unveiled the five-door Vitara subcompact SUV at the Paris auto show on Oct. 4. The car will go on sale in Europe early next year.
Suzuki is not planning any layoffs and will return to two shifts once the new model's production begins, Ruska said.
The factory also builds the Swift subcompact hatchback, Suzuki's top-seller in Europe, and the new S4 S-Cross, according to Automotive News Europe's guide to European assembly plants.
Suzuki's eight-month European sales were up 12 percent to 107,377, according to JATO Dynamics researchers, boosted by higher sales of the S4 S-Cross.
Swift sales fell 9 percent to 31,644. Sales of the Splash were down 11 percent to 9,664 while SX4 volume dropped by 45 percent to 10,655. S4 S-Cross sales increased by 25 percent to 25,577.
Automotive News Europe contributed to this report
