South Korea’s largest automaker, Hyundai Motor, reported a 14% year-on-year decline in August sales on Tuesday, attributing the downturn to partial worker strikes and a reduced number of working days.
In a regulatory filing, the company confirmed that it sold a total of 288,574 vehicles last month, a significant drop from the 336,141 units moved during the same period in 2023. Domestic sales in Korea plunged by 41%, falling from 58,330 units to just 34,333, while overseas sales slipped 8.5% to 254,241 units, compared with 277,811 a year earlier.
To counteract the sluggish demand and revitalize its market position, Hyundai Motor announced plans to launch new models, including the redesigned Grandeur sedan and the all-new Avante compact car. The automaker expects these fresh offerings to strengthen its market share for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Looking at the cumulative figures for the first eight months of 2024, Hyundai Motor's total sales reached 2,575,360 units, marking a 6% decrease from the 2,738,615 units sold in the same timeframe last year. Domestic deliveries contracted by 15% to 399,159, while overseas shipments fell 4.1% to 2,176,201 units from the previous year’s 2,269,158.