In a Rut
Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors, GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors, and Ssangyong Motors sold a total of 716,885 cars in May this year, a 4.2 percent decline from a year ago.
The sales volume dropped by 6.4 percent for Hyundai Motor Company, 4.6 percent for Kia Motors, and 0.8 percent for Ssangyong Motors. Conversely, GM Korea’s and Renault Samsung Motors’ sales volumes increased by 3.6 percent and 39.5 percent, respectively. GM Korea posted this year’s first year-on-year growth last month based on a recovery in exports, while Renault Samsung Motors’ sales volume growth plummeted from around 100 percent.
Last month, the five automakers sold 121,497 cars in the domestic market to record 0.2 percent year-on-year growth, which was led by the popularity of recreational vehicles. However, the sales of the other types of cars remained sluggish.
Their exports decreased by 5 percent from a year earlier to 595,388 cars. The amount of exports went up by 5.2 percent for GM Korea and by 101.1 percent for Renault Samsung Motors. The amount of shipments of Nissan Rogue produced and exported by the Busan factory of Renault Samsung Motors is expected to break the 50,000 mark next month, just 10 months from the start of production.