Sales of five automakers in South Korea rose 16.5 percent on-year in February as growing overseas demand kept their shipments brisk, the companies said Wednesday.
The combined sales of the automakers, led by industry leader Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp., came to 537,709 units last month, compared with 461,378 units sold in the same period last year.
Domestic sales rose less than 1 percent from 105,892 in February 2010 to 106,942 units, but a 21.2 percent hike in overseas sales pulled up the overall results. The companies sold 430,767 vehicles in overseas markets, compared with 355,486 units a year earlier.
Hyundai Motor saw improvements in both the domestic and overseas markets as its sales here rose 0.9 percent on-year to 49,413 units, with its overseas sales soaring 14.8 percent to 231,879 units.
The company said its sales momentum will likely continue for months to come with a lineup of new and makeover models set to be introduced, following the recent launch here of the new Grandeur passenger sedan. The vehicle, sold abroad as the Azera, will hit major overseas markets, including the United States, later in the year.
"The strong performance of new cars, including the Grandeur and the new Avante, will continue for some time," a Hyundai Motor official told reporters. "The company's sales momentum will also continue as three new models, including the unique three-door vehicle Veloster, will be launched in March alone."
Kia Motors, the country's second-largest automaker, continued to narrow its gap with its affiliate and local market leader Hyundai, selling 177,346 vehicles last month, up 27.8 percent from a year earlier.
Domestic sales of Kia rose 17.5 percent on-year to 39,029 units with overseas sales also jumping 31 percent to 138,317 vehicles, it said. Together with Hyundai Motor, Kia makes up the world's fifth-largest auto producing company, Hyundai Motor Group.
GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of U.S. automaker General Motors Co., continued to struggle in the local market with its sales dropping 6.3 percent to 7,631 units last month despite, or because of, its recent announcement that it will replace all of its existing vehicle models with the Chevrolet brand. The change took effect as of Tuesday along with a change of the company's name from GM Daewoo Auto & Technology.
GM Korea still managed to pull up its global sales by 16.4 percent to 54,891 cars from 47,175 units sold in February 2010 as its exports rose 21.1 percent on-year to 47,260 units.
Renault Samsung Motors Co., the South Korean unit of French automaker Renault SA, was hit the hardest by the recent flood of new vehicle models by its competitors with its global sales dropping 11.7 percent to 17,408 units.
The automaker's exports jumped 45.2 percent on-year to 8,979 units, but its domestic sales plunged 37.7 percent to 8,429 units from 13,531 units in February 2010.
Ssangyong Motor Co., South Korea's smallest automaker, on the other hand, enjoyed a large boost to its sales last month as its new Korando C sport utility vehicle continued to pull up its overseas sales.
Ssangyong Motor sold 6,772 vehicles last month, up 44.4 percent from 4,690 vehicles sold in the same period last year.
Domestic sales rose 20.6 percent on-year to 2,440 units, with exports also soaring 62.4 percent to 4,332 units. More than one-third, or 1,587 units, of all Ssangyong vehicles sold in overseas markets last month were the new Korando C, according to the company.
"Sales will continuously increase from March when the Korando C will also be launched here (in South Korea)," it said.
The new Ssangyong vehicle was launched in Europe late last year before its debut in the local market. (Yonhap)