Hyundai’s Sept. sales inch down on weak domestic demand

Business

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s biggest carmaker, said Wednesday its sales edged down last month from a year earlier, due to weak domestic sales.

Hyundai Motor sold 357,151 vehicles in September, down from 357,555 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

Domestic sales fell 5.3 percent to 53,911 units from 56,910 during the cited period, while overseas sales were up 0.9 percent to 303,240 from 300,645, the statement said.

Hyundai plans to focus on high-end models and boost sales of such models in global markets by launching the fully changed Santa Fe SUV and electric models, like the high-performance Ioniq 5 N model.

“The company will cope with uncertain business environments by adjusting production and improving its product mix with focus on high-end models in global markets,” the statement said.

Hyundai plans to launch the N brand’s first EV model, the Ioniq 5 N, in the domestic market later this year and in global markets next year. The N models are aimed at bringing full performance capability to daily driving.

From January to September, its sales rose 7.7 percent to 3,127,001 autos from 2,904,051 during the same period last year.

Domestic sales jumped 13 percent to 563,519 autos in the first nine months from 496,835 units a year earlier. Its overseas sales were up 6.5 percent to 2,563,482 from 2,407,216 during the same period.

Source: Yonhap News Agency