SEOUL, KOREA - 2013 has been a disappointing year for Korea’s major auto makers which faced strong challenge from import car makers.
During the January-November period of this year, the sales of import cars in Korea totaled 144,092 units, up 14,000 units from a year ago.
In contrast, Korea’s five major carmakers suffered a 1.4-percent decline in domestic sales to 1,256,729 units during the period. They released a variety of new models but consumer sentiment remained chilled. Worse, the number of consumers who showed preference towards import cars increased.
Among the five car makers, Ssangyong Motor was the only one which achieved strong sales growth. Ssangyong Motor sold 57,386 units during the period, up 35.6 percent year on year, thanks to the popularity of its newly-released Korando series models.
GM Korea also marked a positive year-on-year growth of 1.3 percent by selling 133,187 units during the same period.