Auto sales of South Korean major car manufacturers fell by 12.8pc in August to 590,885 vehicles. The figure includes sales of Hyundai Motors, GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors, Kia Motors and SsangYong Motor. Domestic sales plunged as the government rolled back tax incentives on new car purchases, while the COVID-19 pandemic slowed exports.
Hyundai’s August sales totalled to 312,990 units, down 14.2pc from the prior year. Sales in Korea were up by 3.2pc to 54,590 units and exports declined by 17.1pc to 258,400 units.
Kia Motor’s sold a total of 216,945 units, down 5.2pc in August from the prior year. Domestic sales slipped by 11pc to 38,463 units in August from the year prior while exports fell by 3.7pc to 178,482 units from the prior year. The company is planning to launch new models to boost sales and expects sales to pick up in the second half of the year.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a slowdown in economies across nations and recovery is gradual. The South Korean government rolled back incentives in form of tax benefit on new car purchases in July, which resulted is a further drop in customer demand.
Renault Samsung and SsangYong Motors lacked new models and failed to attract more consumers and bore losses on sales front. Renault S.A sold 6,104 units in domestic market, which is a drop of 21.5pc in August from the preceding year. The company’s exports plunged 71pc to 1,500 units. SsangYong Motor’s sales contracted 20pc to 8,027 units. Exports slipped 37pc to 1,235 units and domestic sales dipped 15.5pc to 6,729 units in August from the previous year.
GM Korea was the only manufacturer that posted a growth of 13.2pc in August from the year prior on the back of expansion in exports. Exports jumped 20pc to 21,800 units while domestic sales declined 8pc to 5,898 units.
The auto sector in South Korea is expecting a strong government stimulus to boost sales and production after poor August sales.