SsangYong Motor's Dec sales fall 15 pct on weak exports

SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Yonhap) -- SsangYong Motor Co. said Tuesday its sales fell 15 percent last month from a year earlier due to weak overseas demand for its models.

The carmaker sold 14,208 vehicles in December, down from 16,705 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

A whopping 41-percent, on-year decline in exports weighed down the monthly sales tally, the statement said.

Domestic sales dipped 0.5 percent to 10,647 units last month from 10,700 units a year earlier. Exports plunged to 3,561 units shipped from 6,005, it said.

For all of 2017, the maker of the Rexton and Tivoli SUVs sold a combined 143,685 vehicles, down 7.7 percent from 155,754 a year earlier, the company said.

Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. owns a 72.85-percent stake in SsangYong Motor.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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