Renault Samsung's May sales dip 11.6 pct on weak demand

SEOUL, June 3 (Yonhap) -- Renault Samsung Motors Corp. said Monday its sales slid 11.6 percent last month from a year earlier on production losses caused by a dispute with its labor union.

Renault Samsung sold 14,228 vehicles in May, down from 16,101 units the previous year, the company said in a statement.

"A dispute between the company and the labor union resulted in production losses and hurt sales last month," a company spokesman said. Due to the labor dispute, Renault Samsung halted operations at its only plant in Busan, 450 kilometers south of Seoul, several times last month.

Domestic sales plunged 16.5 percent to 6,130 units last month from 7,342 units a year ago. Exports declined 7.5 percent to 8,098 from 8,759 vehicles during the same period, the statement said.

In the January-May period, its sales dropped 35.5 percent to 67,158 autos from 104,097 in the same five months in 2018, it said.

The company's current lineup includes the SM3 compact, the all-electric SM3 Z.E. sedan, the QM3 small SUV, and the SM5, SM6 and SM7 sedans.

Renault S.A. has an 80-percent stake in Renault Samsung.

kdon@yna.co.kr
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