Exports for Kia and GM Korea show sign of uptick in October

The performance of the five major automakers in South Korea is showing signs of recovery, with the size of production and consumer appetite for car-purchasing bouncing back.

According to the sales report for October unveiled on Monday, Kia Motors, GM Korea, and Ssangyong Motors have witnessed their sales climbing up year-on-year on the back of the growth of domestic demand and recovering exports.

Thanks to the strong performance of its SUV models in the United States, Kia Motors boosted its export volumes in October year-on-year by 7%, far exceeding the domestic demand growth rate at 1.8%.

Kia’s cumulative sales between January and October fell only 7.2% from the same period last year, partially making up for the dent left by the outbreak of covid-19. The exports of GM Korea also grew by 2.4%, on the strength of the growing popularity of SUVs in the U.S. such as the Chevrolet Trailblazer and Buick Encore GX.


Hyung-Seok Seo skytree08@donga.com