Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s biggest carmaker, said on Friday that its global sales fell 1.6 percent last month from a year earlier due to a drop in vehicle prices. Hyundai Motor sold 371,421 vehicles in October, down from 377,332 last year, the company said in a statement.
Domestic sales rose 0.9 percent from 64,328 to 64,912 units in the same period, while foreign sales fell 2.1 percent from 313,004 to 306,509, the statement said, Yonhap news agency reported.
“As the pace of sales slows in major markets, volatility in exchange rates, higher lending rates and increased sovereign risk are expected to continue to weigh on sales results until the end of the year,” he said.
The maker of Santa Fe SUVs and Sonata sedans said it will respond flexibly to changes in global markets by adjusting production and sales plans depending on local conditions.
While focusing on increasing sales of high-end models, Hyundai plans to keep the sales volume of hybrid gasoline models unchanged amid the decline in electric vehicles.
From January to October, its sales decreased by 1.6 percent to 3,447,171 from 3,504,368 in the previous period.
Domestic sales fell 7.5 percent to 580,517 vehicles in the first 10 months from 627,847 units last year. Its overseas sales fell 0.3 percent to 2,866,654 from 2,876,521 in the same period.
Meanwhile, Kia said on Friday it saw a 2.8% increase in global sales last month from a year ago due to strong domestic demand.
Kia, owned by domestic industry leader Hyundai Motor, sold 264,854 vehicles in October, up from 257,636 last year, helped by strong local sales, the company said in a statement.
“Strong sales of the overseas Sportage, Sorento and Seltos SUVs boosted monthly results,” he said.
Domestic sales rose 7.1 percent year-on-year to 46,025 units last month from 42,960, while overseas sales rose 1.8 percent to 217,901 from 214,130 in the same period.
Kia expected the facelifted Sportage SUV to be introduced in the country on Tuesday, along with the planned introduction of the all-electric EV3 compact SUV in Europe to help boost fourth-quarter sales.
From January to October, sales fell 1.1 percent to 2,584,244 vehicles from 2,611,865 units in the year-ago period.
