S. Korea's auto sales gain for 2nd month in August

SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Yonhap) -- Combined sales of South Korean cars rose annually for the second month in August as the country's leading automakers, Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp., benefited from worldwide stimulus measures aimed at driving up demand, industry figures showed Tuesday.

But Korea's other three carmakers -- GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co., Renault
Samsung Motors Co. and Ssangyong Motor Co. -- continued to see declines in sales
last month.
Overall, car sales in August rose 8.9 percent to 397,212 units, marking the
second straight monthly gain. Domestic sales climbed 13.4 percent to 90,808 units
and exports rose 7.7 percent to 306,404 units, according to figures released by
the five automakers.
Hyundai saw its sales jump 25.1 percent to 245,876 vehicles last month,
benefiting heavily from the U.S. government's "cash-for-clunkers" program,
designed to kick-start auto sales. In China, Hyundai also reported its highest
monthly sales for August.
Shares of Hyundai Motor jumped 7.55 percent Tuesday to finish at all-time high of
114,000 won (US$91.8) on the Seoul bourse. The sales data was released after the
market closed.
Kia said its August sales rose 4.1 percent to 97,080 vehicles, buoyed by a 8.1
percent increase in domestic sales.
GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Corp.,
reported a fall of 22.9 percent to 38,192 units last month, hit by sluggish
overseas demand.
Renault Samsung Motors Co., the local unit of French automaker Renault SA, saw
its sales dip 27 percent to 14,052 units.
Ssangyong Motor Co., which has been under bankruptcy protection since February,
said sales dived 72.4 percent to 2,012 units last month as the company reeled
from a strike that halted production for more than two months.
(END)