According to foreign media reports, on December 1, South Korean auto industry data showed that as chip shortages continued to affect car production and sales, South Korean automakers' sales fell 15% in November from a year earlier, the fifth consecutive month of decline.
Hyundai, Kia, Korean General Motors, Renault Samsung and Ssangyong are the five major carmakers in South Korea. Data show that the total sales of South Korea's top five automakers in November were 573758, down from 674725 in the same period last year. Of these, the five car companies sold 123136 vehicles in South Korea, compared with 143591 in the same period last year, down 14 per cent from a year earlier, while overseas sales were 450622, compared with 531134 in the same period last year, down 15 per cent from a year earlier.
Disruptions in the supply of new cars caused by chip shortages and the spread of the novel coronavirus epidemic have affected South Korean carmakers' monthly sales.
Hyundai sold 312602 vehicles, compared with 377193 in the same period last year, down 17 per cent from a year earlier. Kia sold 222232 vehicles, compared with 256215 in the same period last year, down 13% from a year earlier. Since July this year, Hyundai has repeatedly suspended production of, Santa Fe SUV and Sonata cars at South Korea's Asan (Asan) plant due to shortages of chips and parts.
In December, Hyundai and Kia said they would focus on promoting their new models, such as Hyundai's IONIQ 5 crossover all-electric vehicle and Kia's EV6 pure electric vehicle.
In view of recent supply difficulties, Hyundai lowered its sales target for this year to 4 million vehicles from 4.16 million announced at the beginning of the year. The company sold 3.74 million cars last year. Kia also said it could not meet its sales target of 2.92 million vehicles this year because of a shortage of parts.
South Korean General Motors and Ssangyong also performed poorly in November due to a shortage of parts and a shortage of new models. South Korean general motors sold 12274 vehicles, compared with 21384 in the same period last year, down 43% from a year earlier, while Ssangyong sold 8748 vehicles, compared with 11859 in the same period last year, down 26% from a year earlier.
However, Renault Samsung's sales surged to 11743 vehicles in November from 867 in the same period last year, mainly due to an increase in QM6 SUV exports.
Total sales of South Korea's top five car companies rose 4.1 per cent year-on-year to 6.54 million in the first 11 months of this year, up from 6.28 million in the same period last year. Of this total, domestic sales in South Korea fell 12 per cent to 1.3 million from 1.47 million in the same period last year, while overseas sales rose 8.9 per cent to 5.24 million from 4.81 million.
