Domestic car sales increased this year but the sales of passenger cars remained sluggish. Out of 29 passenger car models produced by Korea’s five major car makers 27 suffered a negative growth in sales.
According to industry sources on August 17, domestic car sales, excluding commercial vehicles, totaled 714,015 units in the January-July period of this year, up 3.1 percent from a year ago. This growth, however, was driven mainly by SUVs and minivans, with the sales of almost every passenger car model falling year on year.
The demand for SUVs and minivans increased along with the increase in the number of population who enjoy outdoor activities. In contrast, the number of new passenger car models during the period was none.
For the first seven months of the year, the sales of Sonata fell 9.5 percent to 58,694 units, while those of Morning fell 7.0 percent to 49,987 units. The sales of Grandeur and Avante each declined 8.3 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively, to 48,633 units and 46,622 units.
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