Domestic 5 Major Automakers' January Sales Up 1.4%... Holding Up Well Despite COVID-19 (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Changhwan Lee, Jehun Yoo, Gimin Lee] The sales of five domestic automakers last month increased by 1.4% compared to the same period last year.

On the 1st, the five automakers announced that their domestic and overseas sales performance for January reached 613,113 units, slightly up from 604,817 units in January last year.

Hyundai Motor Company announced that it sold a total of 319,959 units in domestic and overseas markets in January. This figure represents a 1.6% increase compared to the same month last year. Domestic sales rose by 25.0% year-on-year to 59,501 units. Sedans led the growth with the Grandeur selling 8,081 units, followed by the Avante (6,552 units) and Sonata (3,612 units), totaling 18,291 units sold.

On the other hand, Hyundai's overseas sales decreased by 2.5% to 260,458 units. This decline is mainly attributed to the continued decrease in demand due to the third wave of COVID-19.

A Hyundai official stated, "We will continue proactive risk management efforts by preparing countermeasures for each region to overcome the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," adding, "We will do our best to successfully penetrate the global market with the Ioniq and Genesis brands."

Kia sold 226,298 units worldwide in January this year, a 2.5% increase compared to the same period last year. Kia sold 41,481 units domestically and 184,817 units overseas last month. Compared to January last year, domestic sales increased by 12.0%, and overseas sales rose by 0.6%.

The best-selling vehicle in the global market was the Sportage, recording 33,560 units sold. The Seltos followed with 31,058 units, and the Sorento with 20,510 units. Domestically, the most sold vehicle was the Carnival (8,043 units), marking the fifth consecutive month as Kia's top monthly seller. Passenger models sold a total of 14,431 units, including the K5 with 5,440 units, Ray with 2,646 units, and Morning with 2,578 units, representing a 27.1% decrease compared to the same period last year.

Korea GM sold a total of 36,126 units in January, a 76.4% increase compared to the same month last year. According to Korea GM, domestic sales increased by 19.7% year-on-year to 6,106 units, and exports rose by 95.2% to 30,020 units. The company explained that both domestic sales and exports showed simultaneous growth for two consecutive months following December.

The domestic sales performance was driven by the Chevrolet Spark and the SUV Trailblazer. The Chevrolet Spark recorded the highest sales in January with 2,276 units, while the Trailblazer ranked second with 1,189 units sold.

During the same period, Renault Samsung Motors sold 3,534 units domestically, a 17.9% decrease compared to the same period last year, while exports increased by 35.6% to 2,618 units. Overall, total sales decreased by 1.3% to 6,152 units. The initial shipment of the XM3 to Europe contributed to the improvement in overseas sales performance.

SsangYong Motor sold a total of 8,678 units in January, including 5,648 units domestically and 3,030 units exported. This represents a 13.4% increase compared to 7,653 units sold in January last year. Despite production challenges, domestic sales increased by 1.6% overall, supported by the strong sales of the ‘All New Rexton,’ which rose 92.1% year-on-year. Exports showed a clear recovery, surpassing 3,000 units for the first time in 16 months since September 2019 (3,050 units), increasing by 44.6% compared to the same month last year.

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