South Korea report: domestic sales fall 3% in May

GlobalData

Tue, Jun 17, 2025, 4:33 AM 9 min read

Domestic sales by South Korea’s five main automakers combined fell by 3% to 113,039 units in May 2025 from 116,552 units a year earlier, according to preliminary wholesale data released individually by the manufacturers. The data do not include sales by South Korea’s low-volume commercial vehicle manufacturers including Tata-Daewoo and Edison Motors, while import brands are covered in a separate report later in the month.

The domestic vehicle market last month continued to be supported by the recent roll-out of new products, particularly by the country’s largest automakers Hyundai and Kia. Overall demand in the country remains sluggish, however, due to high household debt and weak sentiment – with consumers spending less on durable goods. Corporate sentiment has also taken a hit due to uncertainty over US trade policies and domestic political upheaval.

The latest economic data showed GDP shrank by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2025, after growing by 2.0% in 2024. The central bank continued to cut its benchmark interest rate in May, to 2.50% from a peak of 3.50% in 2024, to help support domestic consumption.

In the first five months of the year the country’s five main domestic vehicle manufacturers reported a 2.2% increase in domestic sales to 569,885 units combined, from 557,741 in the same period last year. Hyundai drove the market higher in this period with sales rising by 2.4% to 292,836 units, while Kia’s sales fell slightly to 230,420 units. Renault Korea reported a 151% surge in domestic sales to 23,052 units year-to-date, reflecting the recent launch of the new Geely-based Grand Koleos hybrid SUV, while KG Mobility saw its sales drop by 23% to 15,290 units and GM Korea’s volumes plunged by 41% to 6,842 units.

Global sales by the country’s “big-five” automakers, including vehicles produced overseas, increased slightly to 3,309,011 units in the first five months of 2025 from 3,297,674 units a year earlier – with overseas sales declining slightly to 2,739,126 units from 2,738,348 previously.

Hyundai Motor’s global sales declined by 1.7% to 351,174 vehicles in May 2025 from 357,099 a year earlier, reflecting both weaker domestic and overseas sales. In the five months of the year the company sold a total of 1,706,088 vehicles, slightly lower compared with the 1,710,278 units sold in the same period last year.

Domestic sales declined by 5.2% to 58,966 units last month from 62,200 a year earlier, with SUVs accounting for 23,232 units while sales by the luxury brand Genesis amounted to 9,517 units. Year-to-date domestic sales increased by 2.4% to 292,836 units from 285,900 previously.