Industry report: AUTOS

April 2, 2003 GM halts activity at Venezuelan unit

General Motors Corp. has suspended production in Venezuela because of a shortage of parts from local suppliers, costing it millions of dollars in lost sales.

Production was halted last week and will resume April 21, said Peter Friedrich, head of marketing and sales for General Motors' Venezuelan unit. The company, whose Venezuelan operations have monthly capacity of about 5,000 vehicles, had been producing about 1,500 cars a month.

"Our local suppliers can't import what they need, and we can't import either," Friedrich said. The company is Venezuela's largest car manufacturer, with about a quarter of the country's automotive market.

Venezuela suspended sales of dollars Jan. 21 in a bid to brake a decline in international reserves. The restrictions have halted imports, threatening to further deepen a recession that was exacerbated by a two-month general strike that ended Feb. 1.