Renault Samsung's Dec. sales fall 8.1 pct

SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Yonhap) -- Renault Samsung Motors Corp., the South Korean unit of French carmaker Renault S.A., said Thursday its sales fell 8.1 percent last month from a year earlier on lower demand at home and abroad.

Renault Samsung sold 16,965 vehicles in December, down from 18,462 units the previous year, the company said in a statement.

Domestic sales declined 7.6 percent to 9,980 units last month from 10,805 units a year ago. Exports were down 8.8 percent to 6,985 from 7,657 during the same period, the statement said.

For the whole of 2019, its sales plunged 34 percent to 90,591 autos from 137,208 in the year-ago period, it said.

The automaker has been dogged by a series of labor disputes, which sharply cut output amid a sharp decline in sales.

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.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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