SEOUL: Hyundai Motor Co reports weaker sales as an ongoing labour dispute disrupted production, making it the only major South Korean automaker to cite a strike as a key factor behind its sales decline.
Hyundai Motor said it sold 318,454 vehicles worldwide in July, down 5.1% from the previous year.
Domestic sales fell sharply by 14.4% to 48,113 units and overseas sales dropped 3.2% to 270,341 units.
“July sales were impacted by a slowdown in overall industry demand, strike-related production disruptions and customers delaying purchases while waiting for new models,” a company official said.
Hyundai Motor’s union launched a third round daily partial strikes from July 29 to July 31, extending a series of walkouts that began earlier in the month as wage negotiations remained at a stalemate.
With no progress made since their 15th round of bargaining on July 8, wage talks effectively stalled for nearly three weeks.
The two sides remain split over wage and bonus increases, the reinstatement of dismissed union members and an extension of the retirement age.
In comparison, other automakers saw limited impact from labour strikes.
Notably, Hyundai’s smaller sibling Kia, which has yet to go on a strike this year, sold a total of 298,037 vehicles in July, up 13.4% from a year earlier.
Domestic sales rose 21.3%, while overseas sales increased 11.6%, extending its growth streak to a fifth consecutive month.
GM Korea’s union also staged partial strikes in July, though unlike Hyundai Motor, the walkouts did not involve all production shifts.
Following a tentative agreement reached on July 22, union members voted on July 28 to approve the deal and ended the strike.
Supported by robust overseas demand and a relatively smaller impact from labour disputes, GM Korea recorded the highest sales growth among domestic automakers. — The Korea Herald/ANN
