Korea’s five major automakers including Hyundai Motor sold 778,187 vehicles at home and abroad last month, posting a 8.9 percent on-year increase despite the global economic slowdown.

Hyundai Motor said Monday that its vehicle sales at home and abroad logged 420,365 units in November, up 11.9 percent from a year earlier.

The largest carmaker in Korea sold 61,608 units in the local market and 358,757 units in the overseas market, reporting 12.6 percent and 11.8 percent on-year growth, respectively.

“The recovery in its domestic sales is attributable to policymakers’ slash in the individual consumption tax and unveiling of new lineups in the second half,” Hyundai said in a statement.

“For the overseas market, sales of vehicles produced at factories in the United States, Russia and China remained robust last month,” it said.

But company spokespeople said it is necessary for the carmaker to take countermeasures against weak demand globally from the protracted eurozone fiscal crisis.

Kia Motors Corp. said its sales rose 6.4 percent in November from a year earlier thanks to a boost in domestic sales.

Kia, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, sold 258,157 vehicles last month, compared with 242,636 units sold a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

Its domestic sales rose 13.8 percent on-year to 44,400 units, with outbound shipments climbing 5 percent to 213,757 vehicles.

The company also said its January-November sales reached 2,499,417 vehicles, up 8.2 percent on-year from 2,309,293 units.

GM Korea’s November sales rose 7.9 percent from a year ago on the back of sales growth in the local market. The Korean units of U.S.-based General Motors sold 75,816 units last month, compared with 70,278 vehicles sold a year earlier.

The automaker’s domestic sales soared 27.5 percent on-year to 13,768 units, while its exports gained 4.3 percent to 62,048 units.

For the first 11 months of the year, GM Korea’s cumulative sales reached 722,989 units, down 2.3 percent from 740,128 units sold a year ago.

Ssangyong Motor’s sales jumped 33.2 percent in November last month from a year earlier thanks to brisk sales both at home and abroad.

Sales reached 11,948 units last month, up from 8,971 vehicles a year earlier, said Ssangyong Motor in a statement. Its domestic sales soared 49.1 percent on-year to 4,404 units, while exports jumped 25.4 percent to 7,544 units.

Ssangyong sold a cumulative 108,846 vehicles in the January-November period, up 4.3 percent from the 104,336 units sold a year earlier.

Renault Samsung Motors said that its sales tumbled 28 percent from a year before. The Korean units of Paris-based Renault Group sold 12,441 units last month, compared with 17,268 vehicles a year earlier, the company said.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)