Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Hyundai Motor Co. will idle its only U.S. factory for 11 days in the fourth quarter as an economic slowdown saps demand in the world's largest auto market.

Production of Sonata sedans and Santa Fe sport-utility vehicles at the Montgomery, Alabama, plant will fall to 245,000, 5.8 percent fewer than planned, Hyundai said in an e-mailed statement today.

Hyundai, South Korea's biggest automaker, joins Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. in paring U.S. output after industrywide sales fell 13 percent through September amid record fuel prices and the credit freeze. U.S. automakers led by General Motors Corp. also are shutting plants.

``Economic factors beyond our control have resulted in decreased demand for automobiles generally in the United States,'' Hyundai said. Seoul-based Hyundai halted production at the plant for 10 days in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Hyundai's U.S. sales declined 5.8 percent to 337,664 units in the first nine months, including a 19 percent slide for the Santa Fe. Sales of the Accent subcompact and Elantra small car, both made in South Korea, rose 52 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

Toyota has suspended light truck-assembly at factories in Texas and Indiana. The Toyota City, Japan-based company said Sept. 5 it would reduce output of a new SUV in Canada to half the original target.

Honda is trimming U.S. output of Odyssey minivans and Pilot SUVs by 22,000 units in the year ending in March, a spokesman said Oct. 13. The Tokyo-based automaker also said it will make more 4-cylinder Accords at a plant in Marysville, Ohio, to meet consumer demand for smaller vehicles.

To contact the reporter on this story: Seonjin Cha in Seoul at scha2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 20, 2008 09:51 EDT