Korea's five complete carmakers sold about 7.93 million vehicles at home and abroad last year, down 0.2% from a year earlier. The decline is seen as the result of sluggish domestic demand that has yet to fully recover and exports that also faced headwinds, including U.S. auto tariff measures.
According to Hyundai Motor, Kia, GM Korea, KG Mobility (KGM), and Renault Korea on the 5th, the five companies sold a total of 7,934,872 vehicles at home and abroad last year. That was a 0.2% decrease from a year earlier (7,947,181 vehicles). The figure includes Kia's sales of special-purpose vehicles (5,789 units).
Of the total, domestic sales rose 0.7% to 1,366,344 vehicles. In 2024, domestic sales fell 6.4%, marking the lowest level since 2008 (1,145,000 vehicles) when the global financial crisis hit, but last year they barely rebounded. However, the growth was modest, making it hard to say the slump has ended.
Meanwhile, overseas sales fell 0.3% to 6,562,739 vehicles, pulling down the overall total. The decline appears to reflect protectionist trade policies such as the imposition of U.S. auto tariffs.
By company, Hyundai Motor and Kia saw mixed results. Hyundai Motor sold a total of 4,138,180 vehicles at home and abroad last year, down 0.1% from a year earlier. Domestic sales rose 1.1% to 712,954 vehicles, but overseas sales fell 0.3% to 3,425,226.
Kia, by contrast, sold a total of 3,135,803 vehicles, up 2%. That was the highest since the company's founding, with gains both at home (545,776 vehicles, up 1%) and abroad (2,584,238 vehicles, up 2%).
Hyundai Motor's best-selling model at home was the midsize sedan Avante (79,335 units), while at Kia the midsize sport-utility vehicle (SUV) Sportage (569,688 units) ranked No. 1 in combined domestic and overseas sales.
Hyundai Motor set a target for this year of 4,158,300 vehicles, including 700,000 at home and 3,458,300 abroad. Kia's targets are 565,000 at home and 2,770,500 abroad. Combined, the two companies aim to sell 7,508,300 vehicles, which would be up 3.2% from last year's 7,273,983.
Among the three mid-sized companies, only KGM increased sales at home and abroad from a year earlier, up 1.0% to 110,535 vehicles. Domestic sales fell 14.4% to 40,249, but overseas sales rose 12.7% to 70,286, the highest annual total in 11 years.
A KGM official said the results came "thanks to expanding new product launches in Europe and Central and South America, supplying government vehicles in Peru, Indonesia, and Spain, and a differentiated marketing strategy based on cooperation with our global sales network." KGM said it plans to sustain growth, launching the new pickup model "Musso" on the day and moving into formal contracts.
GM Korea sold 462,310 vehicles last year. With domestic sales (15,094 vehicles, down 39.2%) and overseas sales (447,216 vehicles, down 5.8%) both declining, overall sales fell 7.5%. Gustavo Colossi, vice president of GM Korea, said, "This year, based on our strategy to expand the Korea brand, we will introduce a variety of GMC and Buick models for domestic customers and continue to provide high-quality service."
Renault Korea's total sales last year were 88,044 vehicles, down 17.7% from a year earlier. The compact SUV Grand Koleos, launched in 2024, was a hit again last year, pushing domestic sales (52,271 vehicles) up 31.3%, but exports plunged 46.7% to 35,773, dragging down the total. A Renault Korea official said, "The export volume of the Arkana, which has led exports with more than 300,000 overseas sales from 2020 through last year, naturally decreased," adding, "With new export models set to begin full-scale overseas sales this year, we expect results to improve."