Five Domestic Car Manufacturers Affected by Strike... July Sales Fall Below 650,000 Units (Comprehensive)

GM Korea Sees Export Volume Decline Due to Partial Strike in July
Hyundai Motor and Kia Also Affected by Parts Suppliers' Strike
Five Domestic Automakers' Global Sales Fall Below 650,000 Units for First Time in 5 Months

The global sales volume of domestic finished car manufacturers fell below 650,000 units again after five months. This was due to strikes carried out by some finished car and parts companies in July amid difficulties in wage and collective bargaining negotiations this year. Domestic and overseas market demand both declined, and some finished car production was disrupted last month due to the direct and indirect effects of the strikes.

On the 1st, five domestic finished car companies (Hyundai Motor, Kia, Korea GM, KG Mobility, Renault Korea) announced that they sold 629,061 units in the global market during July (excluding Kia special vehicles). This is a 3.7% decrease compared to the same month last year. It is the first time in five months since February (604,524 units) that the domestic and overseas sales volume of the five domestic finished car companies fell below 650,000 units.

The stagnation in global sales of Hyundai Motor and Kia, which account for 90% of the sales of the five companies, and the decrease in export volume of Korea GM had a significant impact. Last month, global automobile demand slowed due to high interest rates and inflation, and domestically, some factory production was halted due to strikes related to wage and collective bargaining negotiations.

Chevrolet Trax Crossover
Photo by Korea GM

The Korea GM labor union went on a partial strike from the 8th to the 17th. The production disruption caused by the strike is estimated to have exceeded 10,000 units. Korea GM’s export volume for July was 20,365 units, a 44% decrease compared to the same period last year, and it was reduced to about half compared to the nearly 50,000 units exported in June.

Moreover, although Korea GM management and labor reached a tentative agreement on wage and collective bargaining negotiations with difficulty, the agreement was rejected in a union vote on the 26th. A Korea GM official said, "We will try to complete the ongoing wage and collective bargaining negotiations as soon as possible so that sales growth in the first half of the year can continue in the second half."

Hyundai Motor and Kia were indirectly affected by strikes at parts suppliers in July. Hyundai Motor’s domestic sales volume in July was 56,009 units, a 2.6% decrease compared to the same month last year, and Kia’s (excluding special vehicles) domestic sales also decreased by 3% to 46,010 units. This was due to a partial strike by Motras, a subsidiary of Hyundai Mobis, which supplies core parts modules to Hyundai Motor and Kia. In addition, a fire occurred at the Motras factory on the 23rd, causing some disruption to operations at Hyundai Motor’s Ulsan plant.

Meanwhile, the domestic sales of the five domestic car companies in July were 109,924 units, a 4.3% decrease compared to the same month last year. Exports during the same period decreased by 3.6% to 519,137 units. Domestic finished car manufacturers plan to overcome the current sales slump with new cars scheduled for release in the second half of the year. In the second half, domestic new cars such as the Hyundai Casper EV, Kia EV3, KG Mobility Actyon, and Renault Korea Grand Koleos are scheduled to be sequentially launched in the global market.

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