[THE INVESTOR] Ssangyong Motor on Aug. 1 said its July sales grew by 8.2 percent from a year earlier, aided by rising exports of Tivoli sport utility vehicle that offset decrease in domestic sales.

The Korean unit of Indian auto giant Mahindra & Mahindra sold 12,784 units in July, in comparison to 11,814 units from the same month last year.
 

Domestic sales decreased 8.1 percent on-year to 7,546, which also reflected a 22.6 percent decline from June. The downturn is attributed in part to the termination of the government’s tax cut program -- which ended on June 30 -- that slashed consumer tax by 30 percent on new car purchase.

Its overseas sales, however, jumped 45.3 percent on-year to reflect 5,238 units in July, thanks to the popularity of the Tivoli brand, especially in Europe.

“The Tivoli brand models, which posted sales growth of 45% on-year, led our sales momentum,” Choi Johng-sik, CEO of Ssangyong Motor said in a statement. “We will expand our global sales by strengthening our product lineup in the second half of 2016.”

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)