Domestic sales among South Korea’s five main automakers rebounded by 7.2% year-on-year to 110,616 units in February after declining by 4.8% in the previous month, according to data released individually by the vehicle manufacturers.
The data does not include sales by South Korea’s low-volume commercial vehicle manufacturers, including Tata-Daewoo and Daewoo Bus Corporation, which typically account for up to 2% of the domestic market combined.
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Also not included are sales of imported vehicles, which accounted for close to 15% of the total vehicle market in South Korea last year.
The rebound last month follows a number of new model launches in January which brought buyers back in to the market. The government also decided to re-introduce last year’s temporary 1.5% sales tax discount until June of this year the help underpin the market.
Sales in the first two months of the year were 1% higher at 216,924 units, from 214,867 units in the same period of last year.
Global sales among the country’s “big-five” automakers declined by 2.5% to 629,904 units in February, from 646,136 units a year earlier, reflecting weak overseas sales. In the first two months of the year global sales fell by 7.9% to 1,256,219 units, from 1,364,166 units a year earlier.
Weak overseas sales have held back to country’s automotive industry this year, with volumes falling by 4.4% year-on-year to 519,288 units in February and by 9.5% to 1,039,295 units year-to-date.
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By GlobalDataHyundai Motor‘s global sales fell by 6.6% to 336,200 units in February, from 359,896 units a year earlier, reflecting continued weakness in some key overseas markets. Sales in the first two months of the year were down by 9.6% at 674,235 units, compared with 745,764 units in the same period of last year.
Hyundai’s domestic sales rebounded in February, with sales rising by 4.2% year-on-year to 48,844 units, more than offsetting the 1% decline in January. Cumulative sales were 1.5% higher at 98,696 units, helped by strong demand for the new Avante sub-compact car and SUVs such as the Tucson and Santa Fe.
Overseas sales fell by over 8.2% year-on-year to 287,356 units in February, resulting in an 11.3% drop in cumulative sales to 575,539 units, with buoyant demand in the US more than offset by sharp declines in developing markets such as China, Russia and in the Middle-East.
Kia Motors‘ global sales were slightly higher in February, by 0.7% at 223,160 units compared with 221,655 units a year earlier, with a strong rebound in domestic sales more than offsetting weaker overseas sales. Cumulative global sales were 7.9% lower 437,140 units, reflecting a sharp decline in January.
Domestic sales jumped by 10.5% year-on-year to 39,110 units in February, and by 7.4% to 77,615 units year-to-date, reflecting strong demand for SUVs such as the Sportage and Sorento and for the new K5 sedan.
Overseas sales fell by just 1.2% to 184,050 units in February after a plummeting by 19% to 175,475 units in January, resulting in a 10.6% drop in cumulative sales to 359,525 units.
GM Korea‘s global sales rebounded sharply in February, by over 13% to 44,610 units from 39,381 units a year earlier, on strong domestic and overseas demand.
Cumulative sales were still 3.1% lower at 93,804 units, reflecting the weak January results. The data do not include exports of CKD kits for assembly overseas.
Domestic sales jumped by close to 25% year-on-year to 11,417 units in February, after a 22% drop in January, resulting in a 1.5% drop in cumulative sales to 20,696 units.
Renault-Samsung‘s global sales declined by 1.7% year-on-year to 15,360 units after a 10% drop in January, reflecting weak domestic sales which more than offset a strong bounce in overseas shipments. Cumulative global sales were 6.3% lower at 30,384 units.
Domestic sales fell by over 18% year-on-year to 4,263 units last month as competition from larger players in the market continued to intensify, resulting in a 42% drop in cumulative sales to 6,364 units.
Overseas sales rose by 6.4% to 11,097 units in February and by almost 12% to 24,020 units year-to-date.
Ssangyong Motor, owned by India’s Mahindra & Mahindra, reported a 10.4% year-on-year jump in factory sales in South Korea in February to 10,574 units after a 2.3% drop in the previous month, reflecting strong domestic and overseas demand for the Tivoli SUV model.
Cumulative sales were up by 3.8% at 20,656 units. The data do not include exports of CKD kits for assembly overseas.
Domestic sales increased by 6.3% to 6,982 units after a 3.6% drop in January, while exports jumped by almost 20% to 3,592 units.
