Hyundai's global sales fall 3.7 pc in November as demand wanes

Seoul : Hyundai Motor, South Korea's biggest carmaker, said on Monday its sales fell 3.7 per cent last month from a year earlier due to a slowdown in vehicle demand.

Hyundai Motor sold 355,729 vehicles in November, down from 369,356 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

Domestic sales slumped 12.3 per cent to 63,170 units, while overseas sales slipped 1.6 per cent to 292,559, the statement said.

From January to October, its sales dropped 1.7 per cent to 3,809,424 units from 3,873,724 a year ago, reports Yonhap news agency.

"The business environment is expected to remain challenging due to factors such as exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations, as well as heightened geopolitical risks," a company official said.

The Hyundai official said the company plans to focus on sales of hybrids, which are experiencing a surge in demand globally, while introducing next-generation models successively to sustain sales momentum.

Meanwhile, Kia, South Korea's second-largest automaker by sales, said on Monday it saw a 0.8 per cent increase in sales last month from a year earlier thanks to a slight bump in overseas demand.

Kia, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor, sold 262,426 vehicles in November, up from 260,363 units a year ago, the company said in a statement.

Domestic sales fell 4 per cent on-year to 48,015 units but overseas sales gained 1.9 per cent to 213,835 during the period, it said.

From January to November, sales were down 0.9 per cent on-year, tallied at 2,872,228 units.

"Starting in December, we will focus on improving sales momentum by launching the upgraded Sportage and the Carnival hybrid models," a company official said.

Kia plans to strengthen its electric vehicle lineup with it envisioned EV4 and EV5 models, and also launch the new Tasman pickup truck model next year to further expand sales, the official added.