Source: Xinhua

03-03-2009 09:31

SEOUL, March 2 (Xinhua) -- South Korean car producers marked an eight percent drop in sales in February from a year earlier as the global economic downturn drove down demand for cars worldwide, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported Monday.

According to Yonhap, South Korean automakers, led by Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., have a bleak future at least for the short-term as consumer demand in the big markets, such as the United States and Europe, collapsed amid the deteriorating economic recession.

Auto sales by nation's five automakers, including Hyundai MotorCo., GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co., Renault Samsung Motors Co. and Ssangyong Motor Co., slid down to 353,744 units in February, down by eight percent from 386,415 units for the same period last year.

Hyundai marked a total sales fall of 3.2 percent from a year earlier, with domestic sales declining 6.1 percent and exports falling 2.3 percent.

Kia, Hyundai's affiliate, also made a decline of 3.9 percent, with domestic sales increasing 13.5 percent and exports dropping 9.5 percent.

GM Daewoo and Ssangyong also saw declines of 30.4 percent and 69.4 percent, respectively, in their sales from a year earlier.

Amid the liquidity crisis, GM Daewoo has recently filed for government financial aid worth one trillion won (637 million U.S. dollars), while Ssangyong secured bankruptcy protection in January.

Among the major car producers, Renault Samsung was the only carmaker to post an 11.7 percent increase in car sales.

The February decline in car sales comes as the South Korean economy, which is heavily dependent on exports, faces the worldwide contraction in car demand, Yonhap said.

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Editor:Qin Yongjing