According a recent article in the Korean Times, sales of Korea's five automakers, led by market leader Hyundai Motor Co., increased 8.9 percent on-year in May, fueled by brisk overseas demand, industry data showed Friday.  The combined sales of the carmakers came to 695,207 vehicles last month, compared with 638,586 units sold a year earlier, according to sales numbers  released by the companies.

Domestic shipments edged up 0.8 percent on-year to a combined 120,574 last month, with overseas sales, including cars exported from South Korea and vehicles assembled at foreign plants, climbing around 10.7 percent to 574,633 units. The automakers also include Kia Motors Corp., GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors Co. and Ssangyong Motor Co. "Last month's gains were fueled by solid gains in sales made by the country's two largest carmakers -- Hyundai and Kia -- that offset minus growth posted  by smaller-sized companies," an industry insider said. 

He said overall gains in the face of unfavorable market conditions were made possible by solid gains in foreign markets that helped offset weak domestic sales. Global demand for cars has generally taken a turn for the worse due to persistent eurozone woes and slower than expected economic growth in the United States and China.  Reflecting the importance of foreign markets, Hyundai and Kia, the flagship companies of Hyundai Motor Group, the world's fifth-largest automotive group, reported global sales gains of 9.6 percent and 23.6 percent, respectively.

GM Korea, Ssangyong and Renault Samsung all posted negative export growth last month compared to the year before. On the domestic front, sales by Hyundai and Kia rose 0.6 percent and 7.2 percent on-year, with GM Korea and Ssangyong adding to the gains, helped by  popular new vehicles such as the Korando Sports and Chevrolet Spark. "Generally, domestic demand remained sluggish last month with sales being supported by demand for the all-new Santa Fe and K9 luxury sedan," a spokesperson of Hyundai Motor Group said.

He said that despite last month's on-year gains, sales coming into 2012 fell below numbers reached last year. The representatives added that overseas conditions were also becoming more challenging as rivals launch new cars and sluggish economic conditions hurt new purchases. GM Korea said that while overall sales contracted last month, it has done well in the domestic market. "Our sales results over the first five months indicate growing interest in GM Korea's products," said Ankush Arora, the company's vehicle sales vice 
president.

Others like Ssangyong said while overall sales were down compared to the year before, May marked the second straight month of sales exceeding the 10,000 unit mark. Renault Samsung said its drop in sales was caused by general market uncertainties. It said more marketing efforts will be conducted to boost customer satisfaction and demand. (Yonhap)

See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?