Seoul, Oct 02, 2024, IANS

Seoul, Oct 2 (IANS) GM Korea, South Korean unit of General Motors, said on Wednesday its sales rose 6.6 per cent last month from a year earlier, driven by solid exports. GM Korea sold 38,967 vehicles in September, up from 36,544 units a year ago on increased shipments of the Trax Crossover and the Trailblazer SUV, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales plunged 26 per cent on-year to 1,958 units last month from 2,632, while exports increased 9.1 per cent to 37,009 from 33,912 over the cited period, it said. From January to September, its sales climbed 7.2 per cent to 346,587 autos from 323,271 units in the same period of last year, reports Yonhap news agency. Domestic sales fell 34 per cent to 19,228 in the first nine months from 29,056 a year ago, while exports gained 11 per cent to 327,359 from 294,215. In a two-track strategy, GM Korea sells domestically produced and imported vehicles in Asia's fourth-biggest economy. Its current lineup is composed of two locally assembled models, the Trailblazer SUV and the Trax Crossover, and five imported ones -- the Colorado pickup, Equinox, Traverse and Tahoe SUVs, as well as the GMC brand's Sierra Denali pickup. The Spark mini car, Trax compact SUV and the Malibu midsize sedan were part of the lineup, but the company stopped their production in 2022. Most of the models currently sold in South Korea are from the Chevrolet brand. The Cadillac brand models are available here as well. GM Korea plans to add more GMC brand models to its lineup, depending on market demand. Meanwhile, Renault Korea Motors said its sales declined 5.3 per cent last month from a year earlier on decreased exports. Renault Korea sold 8,625 vehicles in September, down from 9,105 units a year earlier due to sluggish overseas demand, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales more than tripled to 5,010 units from 1,651 during the same period, while exports plunged 52 per cent on-year to 3,615 units from 7,454, it said. "Strong sales of the new midsized Grand Koleos SUV buoyed the domestic sales last month," the company said. From January to September, its sales fell 26 per cent to 64,656 autos from 87,201 units in the same period last year.