'April of Horror' Export Collapsed... Complete Vehicle Overseas Sales Fall Below 200,000 Units per Month (Comprehensive)

Domestic demand rises 6.5% due to new car effect... Total domestic and overseas sales plunge 48.4%

Hyundai Motor Company Ulsan Plant Yard (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The export cliff for the domestic completed car industry has become a reality. As the global economy came to a halt due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) crisis, overseas sales plummeted by 62.6% compared to the same period last year. Although domestic sales increased thanks to the success of some new models, the significant drop in overseas sales caused total sales to be halved.

According to the completed car industry on the 6th, five domestic completed car companies (Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors, Korea GM, Ssangyong Motor, Renault Samsung Motors) sold a total of 341,944 units in domestic and overseas markets last month. This represents a 48.4% decrease compared to the same period last year.

Last month, overseas sales fell by more than 60% due to the shock of COVID-19, breaking the monthly 200,000-unit mark. The spread of COVID-19 dealt a direct blow to sales in major automobile markets such as China, Europe, and the United States in April.

First, Hyundai Motor sold 88,037 units, down 70.4% year-on-year. Other companies also showed significant declines: Kia Motors 83,855 units (-54.9%), Korea GM 22,043 units (-32.8%), Ssangyong Motor 796 units (-67.4%), and Renault Samsung Motors 2,072 units (-72.5%).

Domestic sales, however, increased to 145,141 units, up from last year. But the 6.5% increase was insufficient to offset the sluggish overseas market.

In the domestic market, Renault Samsung (78.4%) and Kia Motors (19.9%) showed notable growth. Renault Samsung’s compact SUV ‘XM3’, launched in March, sold 6,276 units, leading the overall performance. Thanks to the success of the XM3, Renault Samsung reclaimed the third place in domestic sales in March after five months and firmly maintained the third position last month as well.

Kia Motors also saw strong sales with the 4th generation Sorento, which debuted in March and sold 9,270 units, becoming Kia’s best-selling model. The K5, launched at the end of last year, continued its popularity with 7,953 units sold, and the Seltos also demonstrated steady popularity with 5,597 units sold. Through this, Kia Motors recorded total sales of 50,361 units last month.

Hyundai Motor benefited from new models such as the Grandeur and Avante. However, despite the new model effect, total domestic sales slightly decreased by 0.5% to 71,042 units. The Grandeur sold 15,000 units, becoming the best-selling car in the domestic market for six consecutive months, followed by the Avante (including 802 units of the old model) with 8,249 units sold. Additionally, Korea GM recorded 6,706 units, a 4.2% increase year-on-year, thanks to the new model effect of the Trailblazer, which sold 1,757 units last month.

On the other hand, Ssangyong Motor’s domestic sales nearly halved. Last month, Ssangyong sold 6,017 units domestically, a 41.4% decrease compared to the same period last year.

A Hyundai Motor official stated, “We will prepare region-specific countermeasures to overcome the global crisis and strive for early normalization,” adding, “We will continue proactive risk management efforts to minimize negative impacts and secure a stable supply chain.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.