S. Korean auto sales climb 2.7 pct in October

SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- Combined auto sales by South Korea's five automakers
rose 2.7 percent in October from a year ago, helped by robust domestic demand as
they introduced new models, the carmakers said Monday.
Sales by the carmakers, led by Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors
Corp., gained to 518,623 units last month. Domestic sales jumped 24 percent from
a year ago to 130,192 units while overseas sales fell 2.9 percent to 388,431
units.
Hyundai said it sold 288,618 units last month, 6.9 percent more than a year ago,
thanks to rising demand at home.
Kia said its sales climbed 7.3 percent in October from a year earlier to 149,591
units.
GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co., the local unit of General Motors Co., said it
sold 55,314 units last month, 24.6 percent fewer than a year ago, due to falling
exports. But GM Daewoo Vice President Rick LaBelle expected exports to rebound
next year.
"We are seeing signs of some economic growth in our key export markets and ... we
are expecting strong sales into the beginning of next year," LaBelle said in a
statement.
Renault Samsung Motors Co., the local unit of French carmaker Renault SA, said
sales rose 25.6 percent in October from a year earlier to 20,470 units on higher
overseas demand.
Sales at Ssangyong Motor Co., which has been under bankruptcy protection since
February, were down 35.4 percent to 4,630 units.
On Friday, a bankruptcy court in Seoul will hold a meeting to decide whether to
approve a turnaround plan by Ssangyong. If the court rejects it instead,
Ssangyong could be liquidated.
In the first 10 months of this year, sales at the nation's five carmakers fell
3.7 percent from a year ago to 4.32 million units.
(END)