According to preliminary wholesale data released separately by the manufacturer, domestic sales of five major car manufacturers combined, totaling five major car manufacturers combined, fell 113,039 units from 3% to 116,552 units the previous year. The data does not include sales by South Korea’s small mass commercial vehicle manufacturers, including Tata-Daewoo and Edison Motors, but imported brands are covered in a separate report later that month.
Last month, the domestic automotive market continues to be supported by recent new product launches, particularly from the country’s largest automakers, Hyundai and Kia. However, overall domestic demand is still slowing as household debt is high and emotionally weaker, and consumers spend less on durable goods. Corporate sentiment was another hit due to uncertainty over US trade policies and domestic political upheavals.
Latest economic data shows that GDP fell by 0.2% in Q1 2025 after an increase of 2.0% in 2025. The central bank continued to cut its benchmark interest rate in May to 2.50% from its peak of 3.50% in 2024 to support domestic consumption.
In the first five months of the year, five major domestic vehicle manufacturers reported that 2.2% of domestic sales increased from 557,741 in the same period last year to a total of 569,885 units. Hyundai boosted the market during this period, with sales increasing 2.4% to 292,836 units, while Kia’s sales fell to just 230,420 units. Renault Korea reported a 151% surge in domestic sales to 23,052 units per year, reflecting the recent launch of the new Geely-based Grand Koleos Hybrid SUV, while KG Mobility dropped from 23% to 15,290 units and GM Korea volume from 41% to 6,842 units.
Global sales from the country’s “Big 5” automakers, including vehicles produced overseas, rose slightly to 3,309,011 units in the first five months of 2025, from 3,297,674 units the previous year to 3,309,011 units.
Hyundai MotorIn May 2025, global sales fell 1.7% to 351,174 units, compared to 357,099 the previous year, reflecting weak domestic and international sales. For five months a year, the company sold a total of 1,706,088 vehicles, slightly lower than the 1,710,278 units sold in the same period last year.
Domestic sales fell 5.2% from 62,200 the previous year to 58,966 units, with SUVS accounting for 23,232 units, with sales from luxury brand Genesis at 9,517 units. From the previous 285,900, annual domestic sales increased by 2.4% to 292,836 units.
Overseas sales in May fell by 292,208 units from under 1% from 294,899 units a year ago, but volumes fell slightly to 1,413,252 from 1,424,378 units in the previous year.
The company’s new EV plant in Georgia, USA, was operated in October last year, and the IONIQ 5 was produced earlier this year. The KIA model is scheduled to enter production in 2026. The automaker said it will expand the plant’s capacity to 500,000 units per year from the current 300,000 in two years.
Earlier this year, Hyundai set a target for 4,174,000 global vehicle sales in 2025, including the 2025 luxury brand, slightly increasing the 2024 volume. This includes 710,000 domestic sales and 3,464,000 international sales. In response to recent hiking in US import duties and increasing international competition, the automaker said: “Hyundai will focus on maintaining sales volumes of hybrid models, particularly while implementing new models to accommodate changing environments in the global market through local production and sales optimizations and maintaining sales growth momentum.”
anytimeGlobal sales fell 269,148 cars in May, down 2.4% from 264,699 the previous year. This is supported by strong demand for recently launched SUV models such as the Sportage and Seltos, which feature 48,091 and 26,017 deliveries, and 21,889 units of Sorento, respectively. In the first five months of the year, global sales rose 2.3% to 1,316,233 units, up 2.3% from 1,286,496 the previous year.
Domestic sales increased 45,003 units from 7.4% from 46,110 units the previous month, with the Sorrento being a bestselling model with 7,734 domestic delivery, followed by a carnival MPV with 6,651 sales and 5,295 units of Sportage. Domestic sales since the start of the year fell to just 230,420 units, from 231,237 the previous year. The company sold 1,445 special purpose vehicles (SPVs), down from 1,585 a year ago. Most of them were delivered domestically by military vehicles.
U.S. sales increased 2.6% to 223,817 units, up 2.6% from 218,204 in May, and 1,084,368 units from 2.9% from 1,084,368 units, up 1,053,674 units, up 1,084,368 units, with US sales rising 10% to 352,656 units. The Sportage was the bestselling model of the brand overseas last month, delivering 42,796 deliveries, including 17,063 sales in the US.
KIA has seen a 4% increase in global sales to 3,216,200 units in 2025, including domestic sales of 550,000, international sales of 2,658,000 and 8,200 SPV sales, supported by the recent release of the K4 and modifications of the Indian K5 sedan and Siros SUV. In the first quarter of this year, the company deployed new Tasman pickup trucks and EV4s, followed by the EV5. Its medium-term plan is to sell 4.3 million vehicles worldwide by 2030.
GM Korea‘Sglobal sales fell 1.8% from 50,924 units in May to 50,924 units, reflecting weak domestic sales, but in five months of the year it fell 204,190 units from 7.4% from the previous 220,562. The Trailblazer SUV and Trax crossover vehicles are the company’s bestselling models, with most output being shipped overseas.
Domestic sales continued to increase by 1,408 units last month from 40% to 2,340 units the previous year, but annual sales fell 41% from 11,556 units as automakers struggled to intensify competition from other domestic manufacturers and importers.
Exports rose slightly from 48,584 to 48,621 units per year in May, but fell from 209,006 units to almost 6% per year. With about 85% of production shipped to the US last year, GM Korea CFO Paul Jacobson recently told reporters that if the recent US import duties increase becomes permanent, the company could consider moving to the US.
KG Mobility (KGM) reported a 12% rebound to 9,100 vehicles worldwide sales from 8,130 units in May, marking a significant increase in overseas sales. Total sales for the first five months of the year fell nearly 7% to 44,041, down from 47,207 the previous year. Formerly known as Ssangyong Motor, the company was acquired in late 2022 by a consortium led by the Local Steel and Chemicals Firm KG Group.
Domestic sales fell 3,560 units, down 11% from 4,001 last month, and down 23% from 19,876 units, as automakers struggled to keep up with rising competition from other domestic manufacturers and importers.
Overseas sales in May, up 34% from 4,129 in May, to 5,540, up 34% from 4,129 in the previous year, but annual volumes increased by more than 5% from 27,331 units, and the company continued to expand its global market coverage.
KGM plans to further expand its zero-emission vehicle range after the launch of a new minivan version of the Torres EVX battery-powered SUV last September. Earlier this year, the company launched a new battery-powered Musso EV pickup truck.
KGM recently signed a strategic partnership with China’s Chery Automobile Company, which includes platform licensing and product sharing aimed at helping to strengthen its SUV lineup. The deal gives KGM access to readily available new Energy Vehicle (NEV) technology, including vehicle platforms.
Renault KoreaGlobal sales in May rebounded from 48% to 9,860 units in May, bringing both domestic sales and exports higher than 6,678 units of depression the previous year. In the first five months of the year, global sales rose 16% to 38,459 units, up from the previous 33,131.
Domestic sales more than doubled to 4,202 units from 1,901 units the previous month, up 151% from 9,172 units to 23,052. The company recently rebuilds its assembly plant in Busan, with more production allocated for the local market.
It recovered 5,658 units from over 18% in May from 4,777 the previous year, but during the first five months of the year, 35% to 15,407 units were 23,959 units to 35% to 15,407 units, with shipments of Arkana Hybrid Crossover Vehicle (Rebadged XM3) plunging primarily.
Last year, Renault Claire confirmed that it will continue to overhaul its range with a focus on the launch of the new Jerry-based Grand Koreos Hybrid SUV last July and the SUV, BEV and hybrid vehicles that were released in stages of the aging SM6 medium-sized sedan at the end of last year. The company recently agreed to produce Geely Polestar 4 BEVs at its Busan factory from late 2025 for domestic and export purposes.
“Korean Report: Domestic Sales Decline by 3% in May” was originally created and published Just automatica brand owned by GlobalData.
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