Hyundai and Kia Post an Increase in Exports
Domestic car sales fell sharply in January due to the Lunar New Year holidays. However, Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. made up for the decline in domestic sales by increasing exports.
Hyundai Motor sold 304,076 units in January -- 47,591 units at home and 256,485 units abroad. The figures represented a 21.3 percent drop in domestic sales and a 0.6 percent increase in overseas sales from a year ago. The drop in domestic sales was attributed to a reduction in the number of working days in January due to the Lunar New Year holidays.
Kia Motors sold 215,112 units in January –- 37,050 units in Korea and 178,062 units abroad. Its sales rose 2.5 percent from the same period of last year. Compared to the same period last year, domestic sales contracted 2.5 percent, while overseas sales increased 3.6 percent. The best-selling Kia car in the Korean market was the K5 (8,048 units), the highest sales in 49 months since December 2015.
Renault Samsung Motors sold 6,233 units, down 54.5 percent from the same period last year. Its domestic sales were 4,303 units, down 16.8 percent from a year before, and its exports hit 1,930 units, down 77.3 percent.
GM Korea sold a total of 20,484 units in January -- 5,101 units at home and 15,383 units abroad. Its domestic sales rose 0.9 percent on year thanks to the successful launches of new cars that had been introduced since the second half of 2019.
In January, SsangYong Motor sold a total of 7,653 vehicles -- 5,557 units in Korea and 2,096 units in foreign countries. Its domestic sales shrank 36.8 percent on year due to a weak consumer sentiment following the end of a tax cut program for car buyers. Its exports also fell 20.4 percent on year.