Declining
Korea’s automobile exports declined for five months in a row due mainly to the weak yen and recession in emerging economies. Besides, Korean automakers’ domestic sales remained in the doldrums last month to signal a bumpy road ahead of them.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy announced on June 7 that the export volume decreased by 3.1 percent year-on-year to 246,093 cars last month. The rate of decrease had been 3.3 percent, 14.7 percent, 3.3 percent, and 6.0 percent in the first four months of this year.
Compared to the same period last year, Kia Motors’ and Hyundai Motor Company’s export volumes fell by 9.2 percent and 7.0 percent, respectively. The percentage amounted to 40.7 percent for Ssangyong Motors, which is highly dependent on the Russian market. This significantly affected auto parts exports as well, pulling down the volume by 13.7 percent.
Korean automakers failed to make a breakthrough in the domestic market, too. Last month, a total of 140,538 cars were sold in Korea to show a 2.3 percent sales growth from a year earlier. However, Korean automakers’ combined sales volume totaled 119,949, showing little change compared to May 2014. Meanwhile, the others sold 20,589 cars to record a 17.8 percent growth from a year ago.