Hyundai Suffering Sales Slump In Its Home Market
It seems every time you read a story about Hyundai these days, it includes something about the brand’s tremendous growth. Unfortunately for Hyundai, positive sales figures aren’t a reality everywhere – like in its home-market of South Korea.
While worldwide sales in the month of June rose 4.6 percent to 312,388 vehicles, in Korea the number dropped 1.2 percent from the previous month to 48,643 units. And while a one-month blip might not be reason to panic, June actually marks the third consecutive month of losses for Hyundai as domestic sales have dropped to a 10 month low.
Reasons for the decline include competition from foreign automakers like Toyota, as well as from sister-company Kia. While Hyundai’s sales slumped, Kia’s exploded with sales of 178,391 vehicles in June, marking a 49 percent increase for first-half sales in 2010.
Korean market experts suggest the real issue is a lack of new product from Hyundai. While several new models have been unveiled, they aren’t scheduled to hit dealers until August.
[Source: Reuters]
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Eh... Hyundai/Kia... two sides of the same coin.