Auto sales in S. Korea up 14.4 pct in November on tax cut
Xinhua, December 7, 2015 Adjust font size:
Automobile sales in South Korea posted a double-digit growth in November due to a cut in consumption tax and demand for new models, a government report showed Monday.
Car sales in the domestic market increased 14.4 percent from a year earlier to reach 165,570 units in November, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The double-digit increase was attributed to consumption tax cuts and demand for newly launched models such as Hyundai's Avante, Kia's K5 and Ssangyong's Tivoli.
Auto exports, however, declined 3.5 percent from a year earlier to 263,687 units in November as demand for local cars weakened in emerging markets especially in Russia and Latin American countries.
Auto production reduced 2.8 percent to 395,004 units in the same period on the back of weak car exports.
Auto parts exports rose 1.8 percent to 2.04 billion U.S. dollars last month as demand for South Korean cars in the United States and China led to rising demand for locally-made auto parts.
The ministry forecast that auto exports would increase in 2016 due to demand from North America and Europe, but it expected local car sales to reduce next year as the effect from consumption tax cuts will disappear. Enditem