Domestic Sales Grow on New Model Launches
The five major carmakers in Korea — Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors, and SsangYong Motor — suffered a setback in exports in March due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.
March sales results announced on April 1 showed that the five automakers sold 597,826 units, down 14.9 percent from the same month last year. Domestic sales increased by 9.21 percent to 151,025 units, but overseas sales fell by 20.87 percent to 446,801 units, pulling down overall sales.
Earlier, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors shut down plants in the United States, Europe, and India. Hyundai Motor saw its overseas sales fall 26.2 percent to 236,323 units, while Kia Motors posted an 11.2 percent drop by selling 175,952 units.
Exports of GM Korea and SsangYong Motor fell 20.8 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively, to 28,953 units and 2,485 units. Renault Samsung suffered the sharpest drop of 57.4 percent due to the decrease in the contract production volume of the Rogue for Nissan. The Rogue production contract with Nissan ended on March 31.
Considering the current trend of the novel coronavirus spread around the world, it will be difficult for Korean automakers to recover overseas sales in the short term. In the case of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, it is unclear when to reopen their overseas plants.
In the domestic market, however, the automakers enjoyed robust sales due to the government’s consumption tax cuts for automobiles and new model launches. All companies that launched new models posted sales growth.
Hyundai and Kia sold 72,180 and 51,008 units in Korea, respectively, up 3 percent and 15.3 percent from the same month in 2019. Hyundai Motor's domestic sales growth was led by the Grandeur which sold 16,600 units including 3,032 hybrids. The Grandeur achieved the highest sales in three years and three months since 17,247 units in December 2016.
Renault Samsung reclaimed third place in monthly domestic sales in five months since October 2019. Its sales surpassed 10,000 units in 14 months. Domestic sales reached 12,012 units, up 83.7 percent from the same month in 2019.
GM Korea also recorded 8,965 units in domestic sales, a 39.6 percent increase, thanks to the new model Trailblazer. On top of that, sales of the Spark increased 20.6 percent to 2,551 units. The Traverse sold 532 units, the highest-ever monthly figure.
SsangYong, the only carmaker that did not release a new model, recorded a drop in sales in March. Its sales hit 6,860 units, down 37.5 percent from the same month of 2019, the lowest among the five carmakers. Car industry experts say that it will be difficult for SsangYong to return to third place in the domestic market again as its new model launch plan is unclear.