Korean carmakers' May sales grow for 9th straight month

South Korean carmakers marked sales growth for nine consecutive months as of end-May with the easing of the global semiconductor shortage and rising demand for some new models.

The combined worldwide sales of Korea’s five automakers, Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Korea Motors Co. and KG Mobility Corp., formerly Ssangyong Motor, amounted to 717,708 vehicles last month, up 17.1% from the same period of 2022.

Korea’s top carmaker Hyundai Motor sold 349,194 units in May, up 7.8% from the same month last year. Some 80.3% of the monthly sales came from overseas markets.

Kia sold 268,593 vehicles worldwide last month, up 14.4% from the year earlier. About 81.2% of the sales were from foreign countries.

KG Mobility, which was acquired by Korean conglomerate KG Group last year and renamed in March of this year, posted 9,860 car sales in domestic and overseas markets last month, up 19.1% on-year.

GM Korea logged 75,807 units in May sales, nearly double the figure of a year ago, thanks to the increasing popularity of the Chevrolet Trax Crossover, which was released in March. Some 47.2% of the May sales were complete knock down (CKD) products delivered in parts to buyers and assembled at the destination. The Korean affiliate of General Motors Co. enjoyed year-over-year sales growth from last July to May of this year.

Renault Korea posted 15,154 car sales in May, up 76.4% from a year ago. It exported 13,376 vehicles last month, skyrocketing 175.1% on-year. The Korean unit of Renault S.A. said it had boosted global sales of sport utility vehicle XM3, dubbed Renault Arkana in overseas markets, by loading three units of the SUV model per container since early May.

In the domestic market, Hyundai’s all-new Grandeur sedan, which was released last November, topped in May sales with 11,581 units, followed by the company’s cabover truck Porter, which scored 8,061. Kia’s minivan Carnival ranked third in the local market, selling 6,695 units.

Write to Nan-Sae Bin at binthere@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.