Ssangyong Motor Co., South Korea’s smallest automaker, said Monday its sales surged 46.1 percent to a monthly high in July, fueled by strong exports and domestic demand.

The company sold a record 10,763 vehicles last month, compared with 7,369 units a year earlier. Domestic sales rose 28 percent on-year to 3,506 units with exports shooting up 56.7 percent to 7,257 units.

The carmaker also said sales topped the 10,000-unit mark for the fifth straight month in July.

In the first seven months of the year, sales soared 51.9 percent on-year to 66,636 vehicles. Exports spiked 63.7 percent to 42,884 units, and domestic sales rose 34.3 percent to 23,752 vehicles.

The company expected sales to grow in the second half with the restart of shipments to China in August.

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s leading automaker, said that its sales in July rose 9.8 percent from a year earlier on solid demand for its vehicles at home and abroad.

Hyundai Motor sold 323,637 vehicles last month, with domestic sales surging 22.4 percent to 60,021 units. It also said overseas sales rose 7.2 percent on-year to 263,616 units. Total overseas sales include cars made in South Korea and foreign assembly plants.

Domestic sales were fueled by the popularity of the Avante subcompact, which sold 11,051 units in the cited month, followed by demand for the Grandeur and Sonata sedans.

In the seven months of the year, Hyundai said sales rose 10.6 percent on-year to over 2.27 million vehicles. Overseas sales increased 10.9 percent to exceed 1.87 million units in the January-July period, and domestic sales gained 9.2 percent to 404,443 units.

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s second-largest automaker, said that its sales in July rose

15.2 percent from a year earlier as a jump in overseas sales offset decreased domestic demand.

The company sold 206,600 vehicles overall last month, compared with 179,390 vehicles a year earlier. Domestic sales dropped 9.7 percent on-year to 40,706 units last month, but exports shot up

23.5 percent to 165,894 units.

Weak domestic sales were in part caused by fewer operating days at local plants due to union workers taking time off to discuss and vote on this year’s pay raise negotiations that were settled on July 22.

In the first seven months of the year, sales surged 23.9 percent to over 1.44 million units. Domestic sales moved up 5.8 percent to reach 289,051 units from January through July, with exports soaring 29.4 percent to just under 1.16 million vehicles.

But GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of U.S. automaker General Motors Co., said that its sales in July dipped 1 percent from a year earlier on weak export demand.

GM Korea sold 66,553 vehicles last month, compared with 67,230 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

Domestic sales surged 26.1 percent on-year to 13,003 units, but exports fell 5.9 percent to 53,550 units. Last month’s sales come after the carmaker reported the best-ever monthly sales of 79,557 units in June.

The carmaker said sales of its Chevrolet Spark small-sized car, Orlando multi-purpose vehicle and Cruze compact fueled local demand.

In the first seven months of the year, sales moved up 9.3 percent on-year to 480,081 units. Domestic sales rose 20.5 percent to 82,066 units in the January-July period, and exports gained 7.3 percent to 398,015 vehicles, the company said. 

(Yonhap News)