Sales by S. Korean carmakers rise 4.8% in Jan on SUVs

South Korea's five carmakers sold 597,213 vehicles in January, up 4.8 percent from 569,929 units a year earlier due to strong demand for sport utility vehicles (SUVs).

Domestic sales by Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp., and SsangYong Motor Co. soared 17 percent to 116,270 units in January from 480,943 a year ago.

Their overseas sales rose 2.3 percent to 480,943 from 470,327 during the same period.

Last month, Hyundai's sold 319,959 units, up 1.6 percent from 314,825 a year ago. Kia sold 226,298, climbing 2.5 percent from 220,734 last year.

Hyundai's best sellers were the Palisade, Tucson, and Santa Fe SUVs, while for Kia, it was the Sportage and Seltos SUVs.

SUV sales allowed Hyundai and Kia to offset weak overseas sales last month.

Strong domestic sales of SUVs under Hyundai's independent Genesis brand, the GV70, and GV80 SUVs, also helped keep Hyundai's sales afloat.

Hyundai and Kia will continue to focus on promoting their SUV models this year.

SsangYong Motor sold 8,648 units in January to post a 13 percent on-year jump.

GM Korea Co. sold 36,126 units last month for a 76 percent on-year jump.
Meanwhile, Renault S.A. enjoyed a 36 percent on-year gain in January, selling 2,618 vehicles.