SEOUL– Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s biggest carmaker, said Wednesday its sales rose 8.4 percent last month from a year earlier despite an extended chip shortage.
Hyundai sold a total of 306,296 vehicles in January, up from 282,656 units a year earlier on robust sales of high-end models, the company said in a statement.
Domestic sales climbed 12 percent to 51,503 units from 46,205 during the period, while overseas sales were up 7.8 percent to 254,793 from 236,451, the statement said.
Hyundai said the extended COVID-19 pandemic, high interest rates and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) remain major worries for the automobile industry this year.
The IRA excludes electric vehicles built outside North America from tax credits. The new law could deal a blow to Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia Corp., as they produce EVs at domestic plants for export to the United States.
The maker of Sonata sedans and Palisade SUVs set a sales goal of 4.32 million units, including overseas sales of 3.54 million units — in global markets in 2023.
Source: Yonhap News Agency