This file photo provided by Hyundai Motor shows the Genesis G90 sedan.
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean carmakers are placing a bigger focus on sales of high-end vehicles with higher margins as part of efforts to better cope with a possible decline in overall car sales resulting from the global economic slump.
Hyundai Motor Co. saw its third-quarter sales jump by 30.6 percent year on year, achieving record-breaking quarterly sales.
The share of SUVs among the carmaker’s global sales rose to 50.6 percent from 48.1 percent a year ago, while sales of its independent luxury brand Genesis also inched up by 8.7 percent year on year.
In the U.S. market, Hyundai sold 10,300 Genesis vehicles in 2018, while sales of the Santa Fe stood at more than 117,000 units, indicating that mid- and low-priced models accounted for a larger share of total sales.
In the January to August period of this year, however, Hyundai sold 36,000 Genesis vehicles and 56,000 units of Palisade SUV in the U.S. market, showing a sharp increase in the share of high-end vehicles in its U.S. sales.
Meanwhile, GM Korea Co. stopped production of the Spark mini car — which was being produced at the company’s Changwon plant — last month after halting production of the Damas and Labo mini commercial vehicles early this year.
The South Korean unit of General Motors Co. also plans to suspend production of the Malibu sedan and Trax SUV at the end of this year.
Instead of producing new vehicles for the domestic market, GM Korea plans to focus on exports of high-end models for the time being.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
