S.Korean carmakers suffer 11% sales drop in August

South Korean carmakers sold a combined 573,279 vehicles in August, dropping down 12.8 percent from 640,850 units a year ago, the companies reported.

Vehicle sales among South Korean carmakers had already plummeted 11 percent in July from a year earlier due to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.

The carmakers Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., Renault Samsung Motors Corp., GM Korea Co., and SsangYong Motor Co. blamed a reduction in a special excise tax on purchases of passenger cars and decreased overseas demand due to the pandemic for the lower monthly sales.

Hyundai Motor delivered 312,990 units in August, down 14.2 percent from last year. It sold 54,590 units at home, up 3.2 percent on-year, but overseas sales dipped 17.1 percent to 258,400 units from the previous year.

Kia Motors sold 216,945 units last month, down 5.2 percent from the previous year. Sales declined 11.3 percent to 38,463 units in Korea and overseas shipments decreased 3.7 percent to 178,500 units.

Renault Samsung Motors sold 7,570 units domestically, down 41.7 percent from a year earlier as its exports plunged 71.9 percent on-year to 1,500 units. Domestic sales dropped by 21.5 percent to 6,104 units.

SsangYong Motor’s sales in August plunged 19.9 percent to 8,027 units. Exports dropped 37.5 percent to 1,235 units, and domestic sales slid 15.5 percent to 6,792 units.

Both Renault Samsung Motors and SsangYong Motor lacked fresh models that caused the heavy losses in its August sales.

GM Korea was the only local carmaker that reported a sales increase, with a 13.2 percent on-year rise. Offshore sales expanded 20.7 percent to 21,800 units, while local sales tumbled 8 percent to 5,898 units.

Local sales helped offset some of the losses from poor overseas sales under the pandemic.