S.Korean carmakers sell 36,438 fewer autos in December for 5% plunge

South Korean carmakers collectively sold 658,550 vehicles in December, down by 5 percent from 694,988 units a year ago, as the pandemic continued to hamper demand.

Only GM Korea enjoyed increased sales in December, rising 20 percent to 46,717 units last month from 38,818 a year ago.

Hyundai's sales plunged 6.4 percent to 376,970 from 399,543 and Kia's fell 3.8 percent to 218,256 from 226,829.

Hyundai's robust local sales of the Palisade, Tucson, and Santa Fe SUVs offset weak overseas sales last month.

In contrast, Kia enjoyed strong overseas demand for the Sportage SUV and the Carnival minivan to offset domestic sales decline.

Hyundai and Kia reduced production at their domestic and overseas plants to manage inventories as the pandemic continued.

SsangYong Motor suffered poor sales in December results last month due to lower demand for its models, while Renault Samsung's production halt at one of its plants cause it to likewise suffer low sales.

SsangYong Motor's sales plunged 18 percent to 10,561 autos last month from 12,923 a year earlier. Renault Samsung's tumbled 47 percent to 9,016 from 16,965 during the same period.

The domestic sales of the five South Korean carmakers collectively declined 8 percent to 133,061 units in December from 144,839 a year ago.

Meanwhile, their overseas sales dropped 4.5 percent to 525,489 from 550,149 from December last year.

For the entire 2020, sales by the five carmakers decreased from

sold 6.94 million units, down 12 percent from 7.93 million a year ago.

Their domestic sales rose 4.8 percent on-year to 1.6 million last year, but overseas sales fell 17 percent to 5.3 million.