GM Korea's May sales edge up on solid exports

SEOUL, June 3 (Yonhap) -- GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., said Monday its sales rose 0.4 percent last month from a year earlier on solid exports.

GM Korea sold 41,060 vehicles in May, up from 40,879 units the previous year, helped by strong overseas demand for minicars.

Domestic sales declined 12.3 percent to 6,727 units last month from 7,670 a year ago. But exports rose 3.4 percent to 34,333 from 33,209 over the period, it said. Overseas sales of its Spark minicar surged 27.6 percent on-year to 11,931 units.

For the January-May period, the company's domestic sales declined 9.6 percent on-year to 29,081 units. However, exports shot up 12.2 percent on-year to 187,313 units, leading the automaker's overall sales to increase 8.6 percent from a year earlier.

GM Korea said its major products -- the Spark minicar and the Trax SUV -- saw strong sales in the domestic market and are expected to spearhead its sales in the future.

The Spark sold 3,130 units in South Korea, an on-year increase of 22 percent. The Trax sold 1,157 units, up 21.9 percent from a year ago, and a monthly high for this year.

"The repositioning of prices since the beginning of the year and the recent expansion of installment payment programs are leading to strong sales for Chevrolet's major nameplates," GM Korea said in a statement.

kdon@yna.co.kr
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