South Korean automakers’ global car sales logs double-digit fall in October

SEOUL: South Korean automakers’ global car sales logged a double-digit fall in October, owing to the supply disruption of semiconductors, industry data showed on Monday.

Five domestic carmakers, including Hyundai, Kia, Renault Samsung, GM Korea and Ssangyong, sold a total of 548,192 vehicles at home and abroad in October, down 22.2 per cent from the same month of the last year.

The global automotive sale kept sliding for the fourth consecutive month, amid the continued supply disruption of chips used to manufacture cars.

The local car sales tumbled 21.4 per cent over the year to 106,424 units in October, while the sale in markets outside South Korea retreated 22.4 per cent to 441,768 vehicles.

Hyundai Motor, the country’s biggest automaker, sold a total of 307,039 vehicles globally, including 57,813 units at home and 249,226 units abroad last month. It was down 20.7 per cent from a year ago.

Kia Motors, affiliated with Hyundai, sold 217,872 vehicles globally in October, down 18.9 per cent from a year ago.

GM Korea’s global car sales plunged 78.1 per cent last month, but Renault Samsung’s automotive sale advanced 54.3 per cent globally last month on strong exports.

Ssangyong Motor’s global vehicles sale retreated 53.1 per cent to 4,779 units in the month.