Seoul, Dec 1 (IANS) Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s biggest carmaker, said on Monday that its sales in November slipped 2.4 percent from a year earlier due to sluggish demand both at home and abroad.

Hyundai Motor sold 349,507 vehicles last month, down from 358,032 units a year earlier, the company said in a release.

Domestic sales fell 3.4 per cent on-year to 61,008 units, while overseas sales went down 2.2 percent to 288,499, reports Yonhap news agency.

At home, Hyundai Motor sold 18,099 sedans, while sport utility vehicle (SUV) sales reached 22,643 units. Hyundai Motor said its independent luxury Genesis brand sold 11,465 units.

“We will strengthen our sales and production system to better respond to local demand and policies,” a Hyundai official said, adding the company plans to maintain sales volume for hybrid models while expanding its market share through launches of competitive new vehicles.

Kia said its sales fell 0.8 per cent in November from a year earlier due to sluggish demand.

Kia, an affiliate of domestic industry leader Hyundai Motor, sold 262,065 vehicles last month, down from 264,186 units sold the same month last year, the company said in a press release.

Domestic sales shed 1.6 per cent to 47,256 units from 48,015, while overseas sales slipped 0.8 per cent on-year to 213,889 from 215,595.

The monthly figures include 576 special-purpose vehicles, down 59.7 per cent from 801 a year ago.

From January to November, Kia’s cumulative sales came to 2,898,755 vehicles, up 1.8 percent from 2,848,755 in the same period last year.

A Kia official said the automaker aims to improve sales by leveraging its lineup of eco-friendly vehicles, including its hybrid sport utility vehicle (SUV) models, and the EV5 and PV5 electric vehicles (EVs).

–IANS

na/