Hyundai Motor’s February sales drop 8.1 percent

Hyundai Motor said Friday that its February sales fell 8.1 percent on-year due to fewer working days and weak demand.

Hyundai Motor sold 310,148 vehicles in February, compared with 337,544 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

Domestic sales declined 5.5 percent to 50,200 units last month from 53,113 a year ago and overseas sales also dropped 8.6 percent to 259,948 from 284,431 during the same period, it said.

“The February sales were affected by fewer working days as the Lunar New Year holiday fell on the third week of last month,” the company said. The traditional holiday fell in January in 2017.

In the January-February period, overall sales declined 4 percent to 649,776 units from 676,591 a year earlier, it said.

Hyundai’s sister carmaker Kia Motors said its vehicle sales fell 9.1 percent in February from a year earlier on a fewer number of working days and generally weak demand.

Kia Motors sold 195,962 vehicles last month, down from 215,580 a year earlier, according to the company.

The monthly sales were affected in part by fewer working days as the Lunar New Year holiday fell on the third week of last month, the company said. The same holiday occurred in January of last year.

Domestic sales declined 5.5 percent on-year to 37,005 units in February from 39,158. Overseas sales backtracked 9.9 percent to 158,957 from 176,422 over the same period, the statement said.

In the January-February period, Kia’s sales slipped 2 percent to 402,310 autos from 410,478 a year earlier, it said.

Yonhap