Renault Samsung's Oct. sales halve amid pandemic

SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- Renault Samsung Motors Corp. said Monday its sales plunged 49 percent last month from a year earlier due to the coronavirus' impact on the automobile industry.

The South Korean unit of Renault S.A. sold 7,533 vehicles in October, down from 14,826 units a year ago, as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to weigh on demand for its models, the company said in a statement.

Domestic sales declined 15 percent to 7,141 units last month from 8,401 units a year ago, while exports nose-dived 94 percent to 392 from 6,425 over the cited period, the statement said.

From January to October, its sales dropped 32 percent to 99,077 units from 144,736 in the same period of last year, it said.

The company's current passenger car lineup includes the all-electric SM3 Z.E. sedan, the SM6 sedan, the XM3 SUV and the QM6 SUV.

Renault holds an 81 percent stake in Renault Samsung.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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