Domestic sales by South Korea’s five main automakers increased 9.5% year on year to 110,662 units in September, after declining 6.5% in August, according to data released individually by the vehicle manufacturers.

The data does not include sales of South Korea’s low-volume commercial vehicle manufacturers, such as Tata-Daewoo and Daewoo Bus Corporation.

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Deliveries to dealers were lifted by improving supply after production losses in August due to industrial action at some of the country’s automakers. Kia sales jumped by 20%, thanks to strong demand for the new Carnival [Sedona] minivan and Sorento SUV models while Hyundai continued to enjoy strong demand for its recently released Sonata and Genesis models. 

Global sales by the ‘big five’ also recovered in September with volumes growing by 8.2% to 696,712 units, helped by a 5% rise in exports as recovery in domestic output.

Hyundai Motor reported a 3.3% rise in domestic sales to 47,789 units, to claim just over 43% of the local market excluding imports. Demand for the recently released Sonata and Genesis models and the introduction of a second shift at its Jeonju plant helped to drive volumes higher.

Global sales increased by 6.7% to 389,748 units, from 365,317 units previously, reflecting mainly strong growth in China and North America. 

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Kia Motors saw its domestic vehicle sales rebound by over 20% year on year to 38,607 units in September, after a 15% decline in August, helped by a recovery in domestic output and strong demand for new models such as the Carnival MPV and the Sorento SUV. 

Kia’s global sales increased by 19.7% to 231,902 units, from 193,809 units a year earlier, with a large number of models including the K3, K5 and Sportage, contributing significantly to the brand’s growth. Strong growth at home and in mainland China helped drive volume last month. 

GM Korea reported a year on year global sales decline of over 23% to 48,161 units in September, mainly due to a sharp drop in overseas sales as the company continued to reorganise its brands in some global markets. Domestic sales were flat at 13,218 units. 

Renault-Samsung’s global sales jumped by over 47% to 16,484 in September, from 11,203 a year earlier. Domestic sales increased by over 20% to 5,954 units while exports jumped by close to 69% to 10,530, helped by strong demand for the SM5 diesel and the SM7 Nova.

Ssangyong Motor reported flat global sales in September of 10,417 units with a 15% rise in domestic sales offsetting a more than 11% drop in exports, with demand in Russia and the Ukraine continuing to weaken.

South Korean carmakers: domestic/overseas sales by brand, September 2014

 

Domestic

Overseas

Global

Hyundai

47,789

341,959

389,748

Kia

38,607

193,295

231,902

GM Korea

13,218

34,943

48,161

Renault-Samsung

5,954

10,530

16,484

Ssangyong

5,094

5,323

10,417

Total

110,662

586,050

696,712

Source: industry sources, www.AsiaMotorBusiness.com