Domestic Car Sales Rise Despite Coronavirus

The domestic car market performed well in the first half of this year although the global demand shriveled amid the coronavirus epidemic.

Advertisement

Sales of Korean and imported vehicles here from January to June increased six percent and 17.3 percent on-year.

The industry attributes the rise to a cut in consumption tax that went into effect in March to boost domestic spending.

But deduction shrank from 70 percent to 30 percent from July and automakers have to offset any slowing demand with new model launches.

Again it is SUVs they are betting on amid a seemingly endless appetite here for the fat road-hoggers.

Hyundai is going to release several new SUVs, starting with the new Tucson next month followed by a partially facelifted version of the Kona and the new Genesis GV70.

The new Tucson is an all-new fourth-generation small SUV, while the GV70 is the luxury brand Genesis' first compact SUV.

Kia will also bolster its SUV lineup. It plans to release an all-new version of the compact SUV Sportage and a partially revamped small SUV Stonic in the second half.

Ssangyong, which is in serious financial trouble, will release a partially facelifted G4 Rexton in the fourth quarter.

Importers will also bring in newer models that have not been available in Korea. Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the GLB compact SUV here in the third quarter. The GLB made its debut in the global market in June last year and attracts attention with a seven-seater model with three rows, a feature that no small vehicles have had before.

Audi plans to launch the SQ8, a new high-performance coupé-style SUV, while GM already unveiled the high-end CT4 and CT5 Cadillac sedans on July 2 and will start sales in September. It will release the XT4 small SUV later this year.