Domestic sales by South Korea’s five mainstream automakers increased by 12.2% to 120,847 units in August, from 107,677 units in the same month of last year, according to preliminary data released individually by the vehicle manufacturers.
The data did 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.
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Also not included in the data were sales of imported vehicles, which exceeded 12% of the total vehicle market last year. These will be covered in a separate report later in the month, as soon as the data is released.
Domestic sales have rebounded in the last two months, compared with weaker sales a year earlier immediately after the expiry of a sales tax discount at the end of June 2016. New models from leading brands also helped drive the market higher last month, with consumer confidence not visibly affected by the rising tensions with North Korea.
Hyundai led the domestic market higher in August, with sales rising by almost 30%, while sister company Kia and Ssangyong also contributed to the market rebound. Renault-Samsung and GM Korea both reported sharply lower volumes, however.
In the first eight months of the year, domestic sales were just 1% lower at 1,031,143 units compared with 1,041,087.
Big five global sales, including vehicles produced overseas by Hyundai-Kia, continued to decline in August – by 1.6% to 631,870 units from 642,170 – reflecting lower overseas sales.
Global sales in the first eight months of the year were 6.7% lower at 5,266,886 units compared with 5,645,726 units previously.
Overseas sales, including vehicles produced overseas by Hyundai-Kia, dropped by 4.3% to 511,023 units last month from 534,084 sales a year earlier.
This mainly reflects sharp declines in the US and China where sales continued to be held back by the political fallout between the two countries over the recent deployment of the US THAAD missile shield.
In the first eight months of the year overseas sales were 8.0% lower at 4,235,741 units, from 4,604,230 units previously.
Hyundai Motor‘s global sales fell by 1.8% to 336,625 units in August, from 358,252 units a year earlier, due to declining overseas sales. In the first eight months of the year, the brand’s global sales were down by 7.2% at 2,868,030 units from 3,091,768 units a year earlier, mostly reflecting sharply lower sales in China and the USA.
Domestic sales jumped by almost 30% to 54,560 units in August from 42,112 units a year earlier, helped by the recent launch of the Kona sub-compact SUV and strong sales of some mainstream models. Cumulative eight-month domestic sales were more than 11% higher at 458,957 units compared with 411,115 units a year earlier.
Hyundai’s overseas sales continued to decline last month, by close to 11% to 282,065 units from 316,140 units a year earlier, reflecting sharp declines in China and in the US where mainstream sedans such as the Accent, Elantra and Sonata performed very poorly. In the first eight months of the year, the company’s overseas sales were 9.1% lower at 2,409,073 units compared with 2,650,360 units previously.
Kia Motors‘ global sales increased by 1% to 222,740 units in August from 220,529 units a year earlier, reflecting sharply lower overseas sales. Sales in the first eight months of the year were 7.7% lower at 1,759,443 units from 1,907,172 a year earlier.
Domestic sales rose by 9.7% to 41,027 units last month from weak year earlier sales of 37,403 units, but were still 4.9% lower year to date at 340,501 units from 358,160 units previously. The company hopes new models, including the recently-launched Stinger sporty sedan and Stonic small SUV, will help underpin a second-half recovery.
Overseas sales fell by 0.8% to 181,713 in August from 183,126 units a year earlier, a significant improvement on recent months. Cumulative eight-month overseas sales were 8.4% lower at 1,419,043 units compared with 1,549,012 units in the same period last year.
GM Korea‘s global sales increased by almost 15% to 41,311 units in August from 35,971 units a year earlier, reflecting a sharp rebound in exports. In the first eight months of the year CBU sales were 7.1% lower at 361,715 units compared with 389,460 units a year earlier.
The data did not include exports of GM’s CKD kits for assembly overseas, which are substantial.
Domestic sales continued to plunge last month, by almost 22% to 10,004 units from 12,773 units a year earlier, as demand for the Impala, Malibu and Alpheon passenger cars continued to plummet. Year to date domestic sales were almost 18% lower at 93,513 units from 113,912 units previously.
CBU exports rebounded strongly in August after a moderate drop in July, with sales rising by 35% to 31,307 units from 23,198 units a year earlier. This resulted in a 2.7% decline in year-to-date sales to 268,202 from 275,548 units previously.
Renault-Samsung’s global sales rose by close to 28% to 19,469 vehicles in August, from 15,240 units a year earlier, reflecting higher overseas sales. In the first eight months of the year global sales, excluding CKD kit exports, were up by 13.3% at 178,659 units compared with 157,653 a year earlier.
Domestic sales fell by 9.2% to 7,001 units from 7,713 units a year earlier, with year-to-date sales up by 9.4% at 67,828 units from 61,982 units previously.
CBU exports jumped by almost 66% to 12,468 in August from 7,527 units a year earlier, reflecting continued strong overseas demand for the SM6 flagship sedan and QM6 SUV. In the first eight months of the year, exports were 15.1% higher at 110,849 units from 96,302 units previously.
Ssangyong Motor, majority-owned by Mahindra & Mahindra, reported a 3.7% drop in sales of built-up vehicles to 11,725 units in August compared with 12,178 units a year earlier, on sharply lower exports.
Global sales in the first eight months of the year were 6.1% lower at 93,483 units, compared with 99,539 units previously.
Domestic sales increased by 7.5% to 8,255 units in August, from 7,676 units a year earlier, and were 6.8% higher at 70,382 units in the first eight months of the year from 65,918 units previously.
CBU exports dropped by almost 23% to 3,470 units last month, from 4,502 units a year earlier, and by over 31% to 23,101 units year-to-date from 33,621 units.
