Negative Growth
According to industry sources, Hyundai Motor Company sold 63,610 cars in the United States last month, to record a negative year-on-year growth of 10.3 percent. Few automakers recorded a steeper drop in sales than Hyundai last month. Kia Motors, however, increased its monthly sales volume there by 3.9 percent to 62,433, so the combined volume dropped by 3.8 percent.
Apart from Hyundai’s sluggish performance, the total car sales volume in the U.S. rose by 1.6 percent from a year ago to amount to 1,634,952, the highest since July 2005. GM increased its volume by 3.0 percent to 293,097, mainly with its SUVs and pick-up trucks, while that of the FCA went up by 4.0 percent, so its monthly sales volume in the United States exceeded 200,000 for the first time since March 2007.
Hyundai Motor Company fell short of expectations in the Chinese market, too. According to LIG Investment & Securities, the shipments from its manufacturing facilities in China, most of which go to the domestic market of China, decreased 12.1 percent last month, with Chinese automakers supplying cheaper cars in quantity.
An industry insider said that the Hyundai Motor Group is seeing today’s situation as a bigger crisis than the financial turmoil of 2008 as foreign exchange rate fluctuations characterized by the weak yen and euro are continuing to affect itself.