South Korea’s leading automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday its April sales gained 7.9 percent from a year earlier due mainly to solid demand in overseas markets.

Hyundai Motor sold 371,597 vehicles last month, compared with 344,231 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Its April sales, however, were down 2.9 percent from the previous month, when the company sold 382,659 vehicles overall.

Domestic sales contracted 7.6 percent on-year to 55,497 vehicles, while overseas sales jumped 11.2 percent to 316,100, it said.

Kia Motors Corp. said Wednesday that its sales increased 13.1 percent on-year in April due to high demand for its vehicles overseas.

Kia Motors sold 232,520 vehicles last month, compared with 205,597 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. The figure, however, represents a 3.3 percent contraction from March mainly because of minus growth in domestic demand.

Domestic sales fell 5.9 percent on-year to 40,005 vehicles last month, but exports jumped 18 percent to 192,515, the company said. GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of U.S. automaker General Motors Co., said Wednesday its sales in April dropped 13.8 percent from a year earlier due to minus growth in exports.

GM Korea sold 61,732 vehicles last month, compared with 71,608 units sold a year earlier, the company said in a statement. The figure also represents a 19.6 percent contraction from March when the carmaker sold 76,823 units overall.

Renault Samsung Motors Co., the South Korean unit of French automaker Renault SA, said Wednesday its April sales fell 13.6 percent from a year earlier due to a slump in both domestic and overseas demand.

Renault Samsung sold 13,819 vehicles last month, compared with 15,988 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. The latest sales figure, however, represents a 6.9 percent increase from the previous month when the company sold 12,931 cars overall.

Ssangyong Motor Co., South Korea’s smallest automaker, said Wednesday its April sales fell 3.2 percent from a year earlier due to weaker demand in overseas markets.

Ssangyong Motor sold 10,011 vehicles overall last month, compared with 10,343 units sold a year ago, the carmaker said in a statement. It sales, however, gained a solid 7.2 percent from March, when it sold 9,342 units. (Yonhap News)