The five South Korea-based carmakers sold 868,458 cars globally, up 5.6 percent from 822,754 vehicles sold in the same month last year. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – Combined sales of automakers in South Korea grew from a year earlier in November on strong demands both at home and abroad, data from the companies showed Thursday.
In November, the five South Korea-based carmakers sold 868,458 cars globally, up 5.6 percent from 822,754 vehicles sold in the same month last year.
Their combined domestic sales gained 2.2 percent on-year to 144,814 cars, while their overseas sales climbed 6.3 percent to 723,644 cars.
The November tally marked a turnaround from two consecutive months of drop, largely caused by a series of labor strikes at the two largest automakers here — Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp.
The other carmakers are GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of U.S. automaker General Motors Co.; Ssangyong Motor Co., the South Korean unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.; and Renault Samsung Motors Co., the local unit of French automaker Renault S.A.
Local industry leader Hyundai Motor continued to suffer a heavy setback in the local market, posting a 13.1 percent on-year plunge in its domestic sales last month.
Still, the November figure marked a 20 percent spike from the previous month, suggesting a near complete recovery in output.
Hyundai posted a 4.4 percent increase in its overall sales last month as its overseas sales came to 415,420 cars, marking a 7.3 percent increase from a year earlier and more than offsetting the sharp drop in its domestic sales.
No. 2 automaker Kia Motors, also emerging from a prolonged labor dispute, saw its global sales climb 6.3 percent on-year to 304,086 cars despite a 2.2 percent drop in domestic sales as its overseas sales jumped 8.1 percent to 255,180 cars.
The November tally marked the second time in the company’s history that its monthly global sales breached the 300,000 mark, it said in a press release.
Renault Samsung saw its domestic sales more than double to 12,565 cars in November from 6,006 in the same month last year, helped by the brisk sales of the SM6 midsize sedan launched at the start of the year.
The SM6 alone sold 5,300 units last month, accounting for more than 42 percent of the company’s overall domestic sales in the month.
Such a strong performance in the local market also helped the company offset a 12.7 percent plunge in overseas sales, largely caused by the recent discontinuation of the SM5 passenger sedan and the Qm5 crossover SUV.
Globally, Renault Samsung sold 25,550 cars in November, up 22.4 percent from the same month last year.
GM Korea also continued to see its market share grow in South Korea, selling 17,236 cars here last month, up 50.6 percent from the same month last year.
“GM Korea has enjoyed its best sales performance ever this year. We have received a strong reaction to our products, especially the Spark, Malibu and Trax,” said Dale Sullivan, GM Korea vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing. “We expect the positive sales to continue as we close out the year with the support of our competitive products and aggressive marketing campaign.”
GM Korea’s overall sales gained 3.9 percent on-year to 53,042 cars as its exports dropped 9.6 percent to 35,806.
Ssangyong Motor was the sole automaker to have posted growth in both domestic and overseas sales last month.
Globally, the carmaker sold 13,728 cars in November, up 10.6 percent from a year earlier.
Domestic sales rose 4.6 percent on-year to 9,475, which also marked the highest monthly figure in the latter half of a year in the company’s history, it said in a press release.
Exports spiked 26.8 percent to 4,253 cars, thanks to growing demands for its new trendy SUV, the Tivoli, the overseas sales of which nearly doubled to 2,660 units from 1,366 a year earlier, it said.
(Yonhap)
