Domestic sales by South Korea’s five main automakers jumped by 20% to 145,815 units in May, from 121,497 units in the same month of last year, according to data released individually by the vehicle manufacturers.
The data does not include sales by 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 in the data are sales of imported vehicles, which accounted for close to 15% of the total South Korean vehicle market last year. These are covered in a separate report when the data is released later in the month.
Last month car buyers rushed into the market to take advantage of the temporary discounted sales tax rate of 3.5% compared with the normal 5%, which is due to expire this month.
Domestic sales in the first five months of the year rose by 7.2% to 651,204 units, from 607,515 units in the same period of last year.
The outlook for the second half of the year is not so good, however, with many buyers having brought purchases forward into the first half due to the temporary tax discount. Bank of Korea may be forced to cut its overnight lending rate further from current historic lows of 1.5% to support overall domestic consumption.
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By GlobalDataGlobal sales among the country’s ‘big five’ automakers rebounded by 6.3% to 761,981 units in May, from weak year earlier sales of 716,813 units and after declining sharply in the first four months of the year. This improvement reflects mainly the strong surge in domestic sales reported above, as well as a moderate rebound in overseas sales.
In the first five months of the year, global sales were still 3.5% lower at 3,552,741 units, compared with 3,680,815 units a year earlier, reflecting weak shipments to overseas markets in the first quarter.
Overseas sales grew by 3.6% to 616,166 units in May, from 595,316 units a year earlier, reflecting strong demand in key markets, including the US and India. Year to date volumes were still 5.9% lower at 2,901,537 units, down from 3,082,702 units, reflecting slower sales in China and other emerging markets in the first quarter amid rising competition.
Hyundai Motor‘s global sales rebounded strongly in May, by over 10% to 429,080 units from 389,299 units a year earlier. This reflects strong domestic demand and an improved performance in some key overseas markets.
In the first five months of the year, Hyundai’s global sales were still down by 3% at 1,949,368 units, from 2,009,409 a year earlier.
The company’s domestic sales jumped by 10.6% to 60,827 units last month, from 54,990 a year earlier, as buyers flocked to the market while the lower tax rate is still in place. Demand was strong for both passenger cars and SUVs. Cumulative five month sales were up by 2.9% at 281,158 units, from 273,277 units in the same period of last year.
Overseas sales jumped by just over 10% to 368,253 units in May, from 334,309 units a year earlier, helped by strong demand in key markets, including the US and India where sales rose by 12% and 10% year on year respectively. Cumulative five month sales amounted to 1,667,665 units.
Kia Motors‘ global sales inched up 0.6% to 243,599 in May, from 242,054 units a year earlier, driven mainly by a sharp rise in domestic sales. Cumulative five month sales were still 6% lower at 1,190,144 units, however, from 1,265,522 units a year earlier – reflecting the continued slowdown in overseas sales.
Domestic sales jumped by 19% to 47,614 units last month, from 40,010 units a year earlier, helped by the discounted sales tax rate. New models such as the Niro SUV, launched in April, and the K7 passenger car helped the company outperform.
In the first five month of the year, domestic sales were more than 13% higher at 224,244 units compared with year earlier sales of 198,026 units.
Overseas sales fell by a further last month, by 3% to 195,985 units, reflecting weak demand in key emerging markets, resulting in five month cumulative sales falling to 966,118 units.
GM Korea‘s global sales fell by 5.1% to 51,907 units in May from 54,676 units a year earlier on weak exports. Cumulative global sales in the first five months of the year amounted to 252,435 units – just slightly lower than the 252,693 units sold in the same period of last year.
The data do not include exports of CKD kits for assembly overseas, which are significant.
Domestic sales soared last month, by close to 41% to 17,179 units from 12,202 units a year earlier on strong demand for the Spark minicar. Shipments of fully assembled CBUs to overseas markets fell by 18.2% to 34,728 units, however, from 42,474 units a year earlier.
Renault-Samsung‘s global sales rebounded strongly in May, by close to 28% to 24,113 units from 18,874 units a year earlier on sharply higher domestic sales and rising exports. Cumulative five month global sales were 4.8% higher at 100,671 units, compared with 96,028 a year earlier.
Domestic sales jumped by over 68% to 11,004 units last month, from 6,542 units a year earlier, helped by the recent introduction of the new SM6 midsize passenger car. Overseas sales recovered some lost ground last month, with volumes rising by 6.3% to 13,109 units from 12,332 units a year earlier.
Ssangyong Motor, owned by India’s Mahindra & Mahindra, reported an 11.5% rise in CBU sales to 13,282 units last month, from 11,910 units a year earlier, reflecting strong domestic sales.
Cumulative five month sales were 2.4% higher at 58,578 units, compared with 57,206 units in the same period of last year.
Domestic sales rose by 18.5% to 9,191 units, from 7,753 a year earlier, on continued strong demand for the Tivoli SUV. CBU exports were slightly weaker, however, by 1.6% to 4,091 units from 4,157 previously.
