Hyundai Motor's unit sales drop 40 percent in May

Hyundai Motor sold 13,416 units of its Grandeur full-size sedan in May, towing the carmaker's monthly sales amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Hyundai Motor’s sales in May plunged almost 40 percent on year as the coronavirus outbreak continued to hamper operations.

The nation’s biggest carmaker said Monday it sold 217,510 units in the global market in May, a 39.3 percent year-on-year drop. Its overseas sales fell 49.6 percent on year to 146,700 units.

“We are coming up with countermeasures for each region to overcome the unprecedented global crisis,” the company said in a statement Monday. “Through minimizing the negative impact and securing stable global supply chain, [Hyundai Motor] will continue to roll out aggressive measures for risk control.”

Hyundai Motor’s overseas manufacturing lines, which were suspended in March, were all back in operation by May, but they are still not at 100 percent as they are only partially operating to limit the possible spread of the infectious disease, according to the carmaker.

Domestic sales were promising in May, with 70,810 units sold, up 4.5 percent on.

A total of 13,416 Grandeurs were sold that month, a 61.1 percent year-on-year jump. It rolled out a face-lifted version last November. The company sold 9,382 Avanates last month, following the introduction of a revamp in April, and 5,827 Sonatas.

Sales of the Genesis models boomed. A total of 7,591 G80s were sold following a revamp in March, a 287.2 percent year-on-year jump, and 4,164 GV80 SUVs were sold after the vehicle was launched in January in Korea.

Kia Motors sold 160,913 units globally in May, a 32.7 percent year-on-year drop. Its overseas sales plunged by 44 percent to 109,732 units. In Korea, it experienced a 19 percent year-on-year jump, selling 51,181 units last month.

By models, 25,738 compact SUV Sportages were sold, followed by Seltos and Sorento.

GM Korea sold 24,778 units in May, a 39.7 percent year-on-year drop. It sold 18,785 units overseas, a 45.3 percent drop. In the domestic market, sales were down 10.9 percent on year to 5,993 units, The subcompact Spark was the most popular model.

Renault Samsung Motors sold 11,929 units in May posting, a 16.2 percent year-on-year drop. New models — the XM3 crossover and Captur compact SUV — contributed in its better-than-expected domestic sales, up 72.4 percent on year. A total of 5,008 XM3s were sold. The vehicle was launched in March sold 5,008.

SsangYong Motor sold 8,254 units last month, a 31.9 percent drop on year.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]