SEOUL, KOREA - Korea’s five major carmakers saw their combined sales reach 715,932 units in December 2012, down 8.1 percent from a month ago. Despite growth in domestic sales, exports fell by 10.6 percent compared to November 2012.
Domestic sales stood at 135,669, up 4.9 percent from a month earlier and 4.8 percent from a year ago. Despite contracted consumer sentiments resulting from the economic slowdown, a variety of active year-end sales promotions, plus the lowering of individual consumption tax led to an increase in domestic sales.
Exports by company, Hyundai Motor sold 63,106 in December 2012, up 2.4 percent from a month ago and 4.9 percent from a year ago. Its sales growth was led by the Avante, which was sold 10,290 units and became Hyundai’s only model to break the 10,000 barrier in monthly sales. Kia Motors sold 46,514, up 4.8 percent month on month and 3.2 percent compared to December 2011. GM Korea marked a growth of 3.7 percent to 14,279 from the previous month, while Renault Samsung suffered a 27.4-percent decline compared to a year ago. Ssangyong Motor enjoyed a 21.8-percent growth to 5,365 units.
enews@hankyung.com
*Article provided by The Korea Economic Dailyhttp://english.hankyung.com/news/apps/news.viewpopup=0&nid=0&c1=04&newscate=1&nkey=201301031029441
