Vehicle Exports Drop for Four Consecutive Months
Weighed upon by the COVID-19 impact, the five automakers producing cars in Korea suffered a sharp drop in vehicle exports for the fourth consecutive month in July.
Domestic and overseas sales of the five carmakers reached 584,042 units in July, down 9.2 percent from the previous year. Of the total, overseas sales fell 14.1 percent on year to 439,620 units. This marked the fourth consecutive month of decline since April.
Renault Samsung suffered the biggest drop of 65.3 percent, followed by SsangYong Motor (-62.1 percent), Hyundai Motor (-20.8 percent) and Kia Motors (-3.7 percent). GM Korea posted an increase of 10.1 percent.
GM Korea’s growth was led by the Trailblazer, which enjoyed brisker sales in the United States. But excluding this, GM Korea’s overseas sales continued to remain sluggish. Renault Samsung has yet to recover from the sharp drop in exports following the suspension in March of its contract production of the Rogue SUV for Nissan.
However, one encouraging sign is that the pace of decline is gradually slowing. The monthly decline was 62.5 percent in April, 47.8 percent in May and 32.6 percent in June.
In the domestic market, the automakers’ sales arrived at 144,422 units, up 10.1 percent from the previous year. But the July figure was down 18.2 percent compared to the previous month as the government reduced the scope of individual consumption tax benefits.
Hyundai Motor saw its domestic sales jump 28.4 percent to 77,381 units in July, while GM Korea posted a 3.5 percent increase. On the other hand, Renault Samsung (-24.2 percent), SsangYong Motor (-23.0 percent) and Kia Motors (-0.1 percent) suffered a sales drop in July.