Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors are at risk of losing market share in the domestic market due to strong challenges posed by import cars.The two Korean car makers saw their combined share in the domestic passenger car market fall to 60.7 percent in January 2015.
This figure is far lower than their average domestic market share of 65.04 percent last year when import car brands achieved record-high sales in Korea.
In 2014, the monthly-based domestic market share of the two Korean auto makers ranged from 63.1 percent (June) to 66.5 percent (February).
Key factors behind the sharp decline in their domestic market share include the rising popularity of import cars which saw their domestic market share reach an all-time high at 18.1 percent in January 2015.
In addition to the strong performance of import car brands, other major Korean companies are narrowing the gap with Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors.
GM Korea, for example, sold 10,722 units last month in the domestic market, with its market share rising to 9.7 percent. Ssangyong Motor also increased its domestic market share up to 6.2 percent on the back of its new crossover model Tivoli.
Source: The Korea Economic Daily
