Domestic sales by South Korea’s five main automakers combined fell 16% to 112,211 units in June 2024 from 134,293 year earlier, according to preliminary data released individually by the manufacturers.
The data did not include sales by low volume commercial vehicle manufacturers while import brands are covered by a separate report.
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The market decline accelerated last month, reflecting sluggish domestic economic growth, with the country’s highly-indebted consumers delaying large purchases after the central bank hiked its benchmark interest rate from 0.5% to 3.5% in the last few years. Cumulative six month sales were down by 12% at 671,537 units from 761,493 units previously.
All five local manufacturers reported lower sales in the first half of the year, including Hyundai Motor with a 12% drop to 345,704 units, Kia with a 6% decline to 277,325 units and GM Korea with 29% fall to 13,457 units. KG Mobility was the worst performer with sales plunging by 38% to 23,978 units while Renault Korea sold just 11,073 vehicles locally in this period, down 10% year on year.
Global sales by the big-five, including vehicles produced overseas by Hyundai and Kia, fell slightly to 3,984,035 units in the first half of the year from 4,001,655 in the same period of 2023 thougher there was a 2% increase in overseas sales to 3,312,498 from 3,240,342 units.
Hyundai Motor global sales fell 6% to 351,516 units in June from 375,167 a year earlier, reflecting weaker domestic and overseas sales. The automaker also said it sold 18,000 BEVs last month. Total volume in the first six months of 2024 was 1% lower at 2,061,883 from 2,081,521 previously.
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By GlobalDataDomestic sales continued to decline in June, by 15% to 59,804 units from 70,163 a year earlier, including 12,104 Genesis vehicles and 47,700 Hyundais of which 19,056 were SUVs. Year to date (YTD) sales were down 12% at 345,704 from 396,550 units and also affected by production line refurbishment and maintenance work at several facilities in the first quarter of the year.
Overseas sales fell 4% to 291,712 units in June from 305,004, while YTD volume were still up by 2% at 1,716,179 units from 1,684,971 units underpinned by strong demand in North and South America, and in India.
Earlier this year Hyundai said it aimed to sell 4.24m vehicles in 2024, including sales of its Genesis luxury brand, a slight increase on last year’s volume. The company lowered its domestic sales forecast to 704,000 units while increasing its overseas sales target to 3.54m units helped by the anticipated completion of a new US plant in Georgia in the fourth quarter.
Hyundai Motor said it was working on strengthening its “production and sales system to meet demand and respond flexibly to changes in regional markets”. The company said it planned to increase its global market share by introducing more BEV and hybrids and increase profitability by strengthening its product mix with more SUVs and luxury models.
Hyundai unveiled its new Casper/Inster A segment BEV at the end of last month and planned also to introduce the Ioniq 7 BEV by the end of the year. It was also increasing output of the Tucson hybrid to meet strong overseas demand.
Kia global sales fell 4% to 267,536 units in June from 278,359 a year earlier, with domestic and overseas sales both weaker year on year. First half sales were down 1% at 1,554,032 units from 1,576,016, including limited volume of special purpose vehicles (SPVs) such as military vehicles.
Domestic sales, including a small number of SPV exports, fell 14% to 44,503 units last month from 51,492 a year earlier, with the Carnival MPV and the Sorento and Sportage SUVs its best-selling models. YTD sales were almost 6% lower at 277,325 units from 294,720 previously.
Overseas sales fell by just under 2% to 223,033 units in June from 226,867 while cumulative six month volume was just slightly lower at 1,276,707 units from 1,281,296 with the Sportage and Seltos SUVs plus the K3 sedan its best selling overseas models.
Earlier this year Kia said it aimed to sell 3.2m vehicles in 2024, including 530,000 domestically, 2,663,000 overseas and a further 7,000 SPVs globally. The company unveiled its new compact EV3 SUV in May, produced at its dedicated AutoLand Gwangmyeong plant, with the EV4 set to follow later this year along with the new K4 sedan. The automaker’s medium term plan is to sell 4.3m vehicles annually by 2030, of which 1.6m were expected to be BEVs.
GM Korea global sales fell by 2% to 48,860 vehicles in June from 49,831 a year earlier, despite still buoyant overseas demand following the introduction of the new Trax crossover vehicle at its Changwon plant last year. First half sales were up by 26% at 269,422 units after surging 75% to 214,306 units a year earlier, with the Trailblazer SUV and Trax by far the company’s best-selling models albeit with most output shipped overseas.
Local sales plunged by 63% to 1,901 units last month from 5,159 units a year earlier, while YTD volume was down by 29% at 13,457 units from 18,984 units. In addition to the Trax and Trailblazer, the company’s local line also includes the Bolt EV, Colorado and Sierra Denali pickup trucks and the Equinox, Traverse and Tahoe and Cadillac Lyric SUVs.
Exports increased 5% to 46,959 units in June after more than doubling to 44,672 a year earlier, while first half volume was up by 31% at 255,965 units from 195,322 previously.
KG Mobility reported a 9% fall in global sales to 9,358 vehicles in June from 10,243 units a year earlier, reflecting sharply lower domestic sales, while cumulative six month sales were down by 13% at 56,565 from 64,965 units. The company, previously known as Ssangyong Motor, was acquired in late 2022 by a consortium led by local steel and chemicals firm KG Group.
Domestic sales fell by 29% to 4,102 units last month from 5,758 amid sluggish local demand and as competition from other domestic manufacturers and importers continued to intensify. YTD domestic sales were down 38% at 23,978 from 38,969 units, despite the launch last year of the new Torres EVX SUV powered by lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. A minivan version of this model was launched in May.
Exports increased by 17% to 5,256 in June from 4,485 a year earlier and were up 24% at 32,587 units YTD from 26,176 units after the company signed several significant export orders with Middle Eastern distributors in the last two years, with shipments to Europe and Australia also rising this year. The company said it would “explore new markets in Latin America” to help strengthen global sales.
Earlier this year a KG Mobility spokesperson said “we are not only focused on increasing exports, which continue to rise, but also on strengthening our position in the domestic market – including by improving customer satisfaction”. The company is also strengthening its domestic dealer network to help lift local sales.
Renault Korea global sales increased 23% to 9,002 vehicles in June from 7,297 units a year earlier, driven by a rebound in both domestic sales and exports after sharp declines in previous months. Total sales in the first half of the year were still down by 35% at 42,133 units from 64,847 units.
Domestic sales increased by 7% to 1,901 vehicles last month from a depressed 1,721 units a year earlier, but were still down 10% at 11,073 units YTD from 12,270 units as the company struggled with rising competition from domestic manufacturers and from imported brands.
Exports jumped 25% to 6,961 vehicles in June from 5,576 units a year earlier, most of which were shipments of the Arkana hybrid model (a rebadged XM3), while first-half exports were down by 41% at 31,060 units from 52,577 units.
Renault Korea said it would continue to overhaul its product range, with plans to phase out its aging SM6 mid size sedan later this year. The company said it would focus on producing SUVs, BEVs and hybrids to help revive sales. It recently revealed plans to produce a new series of hybrid models under its Aurora 1 programme, starting with the new Geely-based Grand Koleos hybrid SUV unveiled at the end of last month and scheduled to go on sale in the coming weeks.
The company recently agreed with Geely to produce the Polestar 4 BEV at its Busan plant from the second half of 2025, for sale domestically and for export.
Management had also discussed sourcing EV batteries with local producers including LG Energy Solution, SK On and Samsung SDI.
