Domestic sales by South Korea’s five main automakers combined fell by just over 2% to 112,468 units in July 2024 from 115,230 year earlier, according to preliminary data released individually by the manufacturers.
The data did not include sales by low volume commercial vehicle manufacturers while import brands are covered by a separate report.
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The market decline slowed last month following much steeper drops in previous months, reflecting mainly weaker year earlier sales as the domestic economic growth remained sluggish with the country’s highly indebted consumers under pressure from the interest rate hikes of the last two years. Cumulative seven month sales were down by 11% at 781,491 units from 875,290 units previously.
All five local manufacturers reported lower sales year to date (YTD), Hyundai Motor with a 12% drop to 401,173 units; Kia with a 5% decline to 323,905 units; and GM Korea with 32% fall to 15,656 units. KG Mobility was the worst performer with sales plunging by 34% to 28,215 units, while Renault Korea sold just 12,542 vehicles locally in this period, down 10% year on year.
Global sales by the country’s big five automakers, including vehicles produced overseas by Hyundai and Kia, fell slightly to 4,616,439 units in the first seven months of the year from 4,655,394 in the same period of 2023 despite a 1.5% increase in overseas sales to 3,834,948 from 3,778,671 units.
Hyundai Motor global sales fell 1% to 332,003 units in July from 336,655 a year earlier, reflecting slower domestic and overseas sales. The top automaker also said it sold 18,000 BEVs globally last month. Total volume in the first seven months of 2024 was 1% lower at 2,395,296 from 2,418,176 previously.
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By GlobalDataDomestic sales continued to decline in July, by 3% to 56,009 units from 57,503 a year earlier, including 10,703 Genesis vehicles and 45,306 Hyundais of which 17,986 were SUVs. Cumulative seven month sales were down 12% at 401,173 from 454,053 units with high interest rates dampening consumer demand for large purchases.
Overseas sales fell 1% to 275,994 units in July from 279,152 while YTD volume was still up by 1.5% at 1,994,123 units from 1,964,123 units underpinned by strong demand in North and South America, and in India.
Earlier this year Hyundai said it aimed to sell 4.24m vehicles globally in 2024, including its Genesis luxury brand, a slight increase on last year. The company lowered its domestic sales forecast to 704,000 units while increasing its overseas sales target to 3.54m units – helped by the anticipated completion of its new US plant in Georgia in the fourth quarter.
Hyundai Motor said it was working on strengthening its “production and sales system to meet demand and respond flexibly to changes in regional markets”. The company aims to increase its global market share by introducing more BEV and hybrids and increase profitability by strengthening its product mix with more SUVs and premium models.
Hyundai unveiled its new Casper/Inster A-segment BEV at the end of June and plans to introduce the Ioniq 7 BEV by the end of the year. It is also increasing output of the Tucson hybrid to meet strong overseas demand.
Kia global sales were just slightly higher at 261,334 units in July from 260,696 a year earlier with a slight increase in overseas sales offsetting slower domestic volume. Sales in the first seven months of the year were 1% lower at 1,816,699 units from 1,836,712, including limited volume of special purpose vehicles (SPVs) such as military vehicles. The Sportage SUV was its best selling model last month with 47,471 deliveries globally, followed by the Seltos with 27,171 sales and the Sorento with 23,710 units.
Domestic sales, including a small number of SPV exports, fell by almost 3% to 46,610 units last month from 47,836 a year earlier, with the Sorento and Sportage SUVs and the Carnival MPV its best-selling models. YTD sales were more than 5% lower at 323,905 units from 342,556 previously.
Overseas sales increased by 1% to 214,724 units in July from 212,860 while cumulative seven-month volumes were just slightly lower at 1,492,794 units from 1,494,156 with the Sportage and Seltos SUVs and the K3 sedan its best selling overseas models.
Earlier this year Kia said it aimed to sell 3.2 million vehicles in 2024, including 530,000 domestically, 2,663,000 overseas and a further 7,000 SPVs globally. The company unveiled its new compact battery-powered EV3 SUV in May, produced at its dedicated AutoLand Gwangmyeong BEV plant, with the EV4 model set to follow later this year along with the new K4 sedan. The automaker’s medium-term plan is to sell 4.3 million vehicles annually by 2030, of which 1.6m are expected to be BEVs.
GM Korea global sales plunged by 45% to 22,564 vehicles in July from 40,705 a year earlier, with output affected by industrial action after wage negotiations broke down. Sales in the first seven months of the year were still 14% higher at 291,986 units after surging by 71% to 255,011 units in the same period of last year, driven mainly by strong overseas demand for the Trax crossover model which went into production at the Changwon plant early last year.
Local sales plunged by 47% to 2,199 units last month from 4,143 units a year earlier, while YTD volumes were down by 32% at 15,656 units from 23,127 units – reflecting strong competition from Hyundai-Kia and from imports. In addition to the Trax, the company’s local line-up also includes the Bolt EV, Colorado and Sierra Denali pickup trucks and the Trailblazer, Equinox, Traverse and Tahoe and Cadillac Lyric SUVs.
Exports plunged by 44% to 20,365 units in July after more than doubling to 36,562 a year earlier, but were still up by 19% at 276,330 units YTD from 231,884 previously.
GM Korea said it hopes to reach a wage settlement with plant workers as soon as possible, as it aims to make up lost production in the second half of the year. The company’s global sales target for this year is 529,200 vehicles, up by 13% from last year’s 468,059 units.
KG Mobility reported a 23% fall in global sales to 8,313 vehicles in July from 10,848 units a year earlier, reflecting sharply lower overseas sales, while cumulative seven month volume was down by 14% at 64,878 from 75,813 units. The company, previously known as Ssangyong Motor, was acquired in late 2022 by a consortium led by local steel and chemicals firm KG Group.
Domestic sales increased by 5% to 4,237 units last month from 4,043 a year earlier, helped by the recent launch of a new minivan version of the Torres EVX SUV powered by lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. YTD domestic sales were still down by over 34% at 28,215 from 43,012 units, reflecting weak overall demand and strong competition from other domestic manufacturers and importers.
Exports plunged by 40% to 4,076 in July from 6,805 a year earlier, as BEV demand in Europe also continued to weaken, but YTD volume was still up by 12% at 36,663 units from 32,801 units. The company, which also sells ships its vehicles to Australia and the Middle East, earlier this year said it plans to “explore new markets in Latin America” to help strengthen global sales.
Renault Korea global sales increased by 13% to 5,447 vehicles in July from a weak 4,835 units a year earlier, driven by a rebound in exports after sharp declines earlier in the year. Total sales in the first half of the year were still down by 32% at 47,580 units from 69,682 units.
Domestic sales fell by 14% to 1,469 vehicles last month from an already depressed 1,705 units a year earlier and were down by over 10% at 12,542 units YTD from 13,975 units, as the company struggled with rising competition from domestic manufacturers and importers.
Exports jumped by 27% to 3,978 units in July from 3,130 units a year earlier, most of which were shipments of the Arkana hybrid model (a rebadged XM3) while YTD exports were down by 37% at 35,038 units from 55,707 units.
Earlier this year Renault Korea said it would continue to overhaul its product range with a strong focus on SUVs, BEVs and hybrid vehicles, starting with the new Geely based Grand Koleos hybrid SUV launched last month and the phase out its aging SM6 mid size sedan later this year. The company recently agreed with Geely to produce the Polestar 4 BEV at the Busan plant from the second half of 2025, for sale locally and for export.
