Korean carmakers post strong gains in sales

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s No. 1 automaker, said Wednesday its September sales moved up 6.7 percent from a year earlier, fueled by demand for new models and more overseas production.

Company data showed 389,748 cars being sold overall last month, with domestic sales gaining 3.3 percent to 47,789. Overseas sales also did well by moving up 7.2 percent to 341,959 cars.

It said cars like the new Sonata midsize and Genesis premium sedans fueled growth.

Sales of the Genesis hit 27,596 units this year, up twofold from the year before.

The carmaker added that an 8.4 percent increase in overseas production contributed to more sales.

The relatively tame walkouts during this year’s wage negotiations played a part in pushing up numbers compared to the year before, when union workers staged more aggressive strikes that affected production.

Hyundai said it sold 3,625,242 cars in the January-September period, up 3.57 percent from the year before, with overseas sales reaching 3,123,236 vehicles compared to 3,021,304 units sold last year. Domestic sales stood at 502,006 units in the period, from 478,850 cars sold a year earlier.

Its smaller affiliate Kia Motors also said its sales surged 19.7 percent in September from a year ago, mainly due to a sharp rise in demand for new vehicles.

The carmaker said it sold 231,902 cars overall last month, up from 193,809 vehicles sold a year earlier.

Of all cars sold, home market sales moved up 20.2 percent on-year to 38,605 units, while overseas sales hit 193,297, a 19.6 percent spike from September 2013, the company said in a statement.

The latest data showed sales of new models like the Carnival minivan and Sorento crossover SUV fueled growth in the domestic market.

In foreign markets, an improvement in the carmaker’s brand equity played a part in pushing up sales.

GM Korea, the local unit of U.S. automaker General Motors Co., said its sales for September plunged 23.4 percent from a year earlier, mainly due to weak demand for its best-selling models.

South Korea’s third-largest carmaker sold a total of 48,161 vehicles last month, down from 62,850 units a year earlier, the company said.

Its domestic sales reached 13,218 units, down a marginal 0.3 percent from the year before when it sold 13,252 vehicles.

Demand for the Malibu midsize sedan, the Alpheon near-luxury car and recreational vehicles bolstered sales numbers that took a hit from the 24 percent on-year drop in sales for the Spark mini car. The Spark is the carmaker’s best-selling car. Sales of its Cruz compact sedan, another popular car, fell 24 percent on-year.

Overseas sales also nosedived 29.5 percent to 34,943 vehicles from 49,598 tallied in the previous year.

Renault Samsung Motors’ September sales soared 47.1 percent from a year earlier, the company said Wednesday, due to the popularity of newly launched vehicles.

The carmaker sold 16,484 vehicles last month, the highest monthly number reached this year, and much higher than the 11,203 units sold a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

Domestic sales came to 5,954 units, up 20.1 percent from the 4,957 tallied in September 2013, the company said. Overseas numbers also shot up 68.6 percent to reach 10,530 units, vis-a-vis 6,246 the year before.

Exports of cars reached the highest mark since February 2012, the local unit of French automaker Renault said.

(From news reports)