Hyundai's global sales fall 1.6% in October as demand wanes

Hyundai Motor, South Korea's biggest carmaker, said on Friday its global sales fell 1.6 per cent last month from a year earlier due to a slowdown in vehicle demand. Hyundai Motor sold 371,421 vehicles in October, down from 377,332 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

Domestic sales rose 0.9 per cent from 64,328 to 64,912 units during the cited period, while overseas sales declined 2.1 per cent from 313,004 to 306,509, the statement said, reports Yonhap news agency.

"With the pace of sales slowing in major markets, volatility in exchange rates, high lending rates and increasing geopolitical risks are expected to continue to weigh on sales results for the rest of the year," it said.

The maker of Santa Fe SUVs and Sonata sedans said it will flexibly respond to changes in global markets by adjusting production and sales systems depending on local conditions.

While focusing on increasing sales of high-end models, Hyundai plans to keep the sales volume of gasoline hybrid models steady amid the slowdown in electric vehicles.

From January to October, its sales dropped 1.6 percent to 3,447,171 autos from 3,504,368 in the year-ago period.

Domestic sales fell 7.5 per cent to 580,517 autos in the first 10 months from 627,847 units a year earlier. Its overseas sales were down 0.3 percent to 2,866,654 from 2,876,521 during the same period.

Meanwhile, Kia said on Friday it saw a 2.8 per cent increase in global sales last month from a year earlier thanks to robust domestic demand.

Kia, an affiliate of domestic industry leader Hyundai Motor, sold 264,854 vehicles in October, up from 257,636 units a year ago, helped by robust local sales, the company said in a statement.

"Strong overseas sales of the Sportage, Sorento and Seltos SUVs propped up the monthly results," it said.

Domestic sales increased 7.1 percent on-year to 46,025 units last month from 42,960, while overseas sales were up 1.8 percent to 217,901 from 214,130 during the cited period, it said.

Kia expected the face-lifted Sportage SUV, to be launched domestically on Tuesday, and the planned launch of the all-electric EV3 compact SUV in Europe to help boost sales for the rest of the fourth quarter.

From January to October, sales fell 1.1 per cent to 2,584,244 autos from 2,611,865 units in the year-ago period.