April 25, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] More than three out of every 10 vehicles sold by Hyundai Motor Group this year in South Korea were recreational vehicles, auto sales figures showed Sunday.

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors sold 1.07 million cars here in the first 11 months of the year, among which 343,273 units, or 32 percent of total sales, were RVs.

In 2011, less than 20 percent of vehicles sold by the two automakers were RVs. In Korea, the RV category includes sport utility vehicles and multipurpose vehicles. 

The growth has been led by Kia with its best-selling Sorento and Carnival. Kia sold 215,073 units, 11.4 percent more than in the same period last year, while Hyundai, led by its Santa Fe, sold 128,200, declining 11.2 percent on-year.

South Korea’s RV market has been growing faster than overall auto sales. In 2015, the two carmakers sold 378,114 RV units, jumping 67.6 percent from 225,664 in 2011. Overall auto sales in South Korea grew 15 percent during the same period. 

By Park Ga-young/The Korea Herald (gypark@heraldcorp.com)