Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's No. 2 auto maker by sales, said Sunday that it is considering halting operations of one of its plants in China amid weak sales.

The suspension of operations at one of its plants in Yancheng in eastern Jiangsu province is under review to secure production efficiency and profitability, the company said.

The Yancheng Plant 1 has a production capacity of 140,000 units per year. Combined with two other plants in the city, they produce 890,000 units a year with some 6,500 employees.

Earlier on Friday, Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, also said it will halt operations at one its five plants in China within a couple of months due to a low utilization rate. Kia is a major affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group.

Kia's vehicle sales in China have been faltering in the face of a diplomatic row between Seoul and Beijing that began in 2017 over the deployment of an advanced US anti-missile system called THAAD in South Korea.

(Yonhap)