The Korea Herald reports that sales of Korean-made diesel-powered cars are showing continued growth, especially in the small car segment.
Some 7,114 units of the Pride diesel model, unveiled in late May last year by Kia Motors Corp., were sold as of last month, taking up nearly half of total Pride sales, the newspaper said.
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Hyundai Motor Co.’s Verna diesel, which was introduced in September, the sales proportion climbed from 0.3% in September to 11.8% in October, 30.8% in November and 39.8% in December.
In the subcompact segment, the diesel version of Kia’s Cerato took up 9.4% in July, 12.6% in August, 13.1% in September, 17.9% in October, 22.9% in November and 20.3% in December.
Hyundai’s Avante XD diesel covered around 10% of the total sales or between 300 and 700 units per month since June last year until it soared to 13.5% or sales of 1,190 units last month.
Hyundai has received 121 orders for the diesel version of the Sonata midsize sedan which hit showrooms on Jan. 5, less than 4% of the total Sonata sales during the period. However, the carmaker expects the sales proportion of diesel to increase, a Hyundai official said.
Kia plans to release a 1.6 VGT Cerato diesel fitted with an engine that meets the EURO IV emission standards and a diesel Lotze midsize next month.
