Negative Factors Behind

Korean automakers sold 139,842 cars at home and 551,841 cars abroad in June, down 13.2% and 14.4%, respectively from a year ago.
Korean automakers sold 139,842 cars at home and 551,841 cars abroad in June, down 13.2% and 14.4%, respectively from a year ago.

 

It has been found that Korean automakers sold 139,842 cars in the nation and 551,841 cars abroad last month. The figures decreased by 13.2% and 14.4% from a year ago, respectively. The former has to do with the high sales volume recorded in June last year based on the cut in special excise tax that expired that month. The latter can be attributed to SsangYong Motor’s and Renault Samsung Motors’ struggle in Europe and the economic retaliation from China that has followed THAAD deployment in South Korea and lowered the Hyundai Motor Group’s sales volume by more than 10%.

In the first half of this year, the five automakers’ domestic sales volume fell 4% year on year to 779,625. During the same period, their total exports fell 0.9% to 1,333,704. Hyundai Motor Company’s export volume edged up by 1.6% and that of Renault Samsung Motors increased 7.8%. On the contrary, that of GM Korea declined by 6.5% and SsangYong Motor’s dropped by 29.3%.

The companies’ total sales volume for the first half of 2017 goes up to 4,003,744, down 8.1% from a year ago, when their overseas sales are included in the calculation. The year-on-year decline is mainly because of a drop in the number of Hyundai and Kia vehicles manufactured and sold out of South Korea, which plummeted by 12.9% and 16.7%, respectively. Due to the economic retaliation, their sales in China dropped in the second quarter. Last month, they sold only 35,000 and 17,000 cars in China, down 60% from a year earlier.

Fortunately for them, things are likely to get better in the latter half of this year. The economic retaliation from China is expected to subside at least to some extent and new cars are about to make their debut in the third quarter. For example, the Hyundai Motor Group launches Kona and Stonic in the United States, Europe and so on and ix35, K2 Cross and Pegas in China.

Last month, Hyundai Motor Company’s sales volume fell 15.5% year on year to 376,109. Specifically, its overseas sales volume fell by 16.2% to 314,272 and domestic by 11.6% to 61,837. During the period, Kia Motors sold 185,355 abroad (down 14%) and 47,015 in the domestic market (down 10.5%) with the total showing a year-on-year decline of 13.3%.

 

 

Copyright © BusinessKorea. Prohibited from unauthorized reproduction and redistribution