Korean local car sales expected to fall worst level
Sales of imported automobiles in
Korea rose by 15.1% in the first half of the year from a year earlier, despite inadequate domestic
consumption.
The
Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association announced today that the new registered imported cars amounted to 10'660 units in the first six months of the year, indicating a rise of 10.8% compared to 9'623 units recorded in the same period of last year.
Meanwhile, domestic sales of automobiles are expected to fall to the worst level this year since 1991 while exports are forecasted to beat a record with 2.1 million units.
The
Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) today published a revised sales forecast for this year. Under the scope of the report, the domestic automobile sales will decrease by 9% to 1.2 million units in 2004.
KAMA previously forecasted that local sales will reach 1.52 million units, indicating a rise of 15.3% compared to the last year.
The association revised its sales estimate as the local sales of five automakers, namely Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Daewoo Auto & Technology, Ssangyong Motor and Renault Samsung Motors, declined by 25.6% to 541'000 units during the Jan-Jun 2004 period compared to the corresponding period of last year.
On the other hand, exports of five automakers are expected to indicate a good performance this year, despite negative factors such as strong Korean Won and interest rate rise in the US.
The output of local automobiles is predicted to reach 3.3 million units in 2004, up by 3.8% compared to 2003.
KAMA also emphasizes that changes in the tax system for automobiles will revive sluggish domestic sales.