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January car sales drop 12.8% as domestic, global demand slump
By KH디지털2Published : Feb. 1, 2016 - 17:54
Car sales by automakers based in Korea dropped 12.8 percent in January from a year earlier as demand from home and abroad faltered due to the end of temporary tax breaks here and the overall slumping global markets, industry data showed Monday.
The combined sales of five automakers in the country came to 626,315 units last month, compared with the 718,030 units tallied a year earlier, according to data provided by each company.
The five are Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Co. and Ssangyong Motor Co. The figures excluded complete knockdown kits that are assembled abroad.
A marked drop in overseas shipments was behind the anemic business performance in January. In particular, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, the two leading carmakers, were among the worst performers on the global stage.
Hyundai Motor saw its exports drop 14.3 percent on-year in January while overseas sales by its smaller affiliate Kia Motors plunged 18.8 percent over the same period. Despite relatively strong performance by three other automakers, their combined overseas sales shrank 14.2 percent to 520,007 units.
"Tough market conditions did not improve much due such factors as the slowing growth mostly in emerging markets, mounting uncertainty tied to currency fluctuations, low oil prices and intensifying competition," Hyundai Motor said in a press release.
On home turf as well, most automakers, except Kia Motors, suffered marked setbacks. Renault Samsung Motors posted a 63.4 percent drop in domestic sales, while sales of GM Korea and Ssangyong Motor also fell 21.7 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively.
"Last month's sales in Korea were affected by the overall drop in demand but among other things, the absence of the special consumption tax cut, which had been in place until the end of last year, could be a major reason," Renault Samsung said.
Kia Motors was the sole company that posted growth in domestic sales, which expanded 4.6 percent on-year in January.
Behind the robust demand is the continued popularity of its major sport utility vehicles including the Sorento, Carnival and Sportage along with strong sales of the K5 midsize sedan.
Total domestic car sales by the five automakers came to 106,308 units, down 4.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data. The figure represented the lowest monthly sales since February 2013 when it fell to 98,826.
The automakers said that they will strive to expand sales at home and abroad down the road by disclosing new models and ramping up marketing and promotion efforts. (Yonhap)
