Kia’s Sept. sales fall 4.5 pct on weak domestic demand

Kia Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker by sales, said Wednesday its sales fell 4.5 percent last month from a year earlier due to weak domestic demand. Kia, a smaller affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co., sold 249,842 vehicles in September, down from 261,479 units a year ago on decreased production and fewer working days due to the Chuseok holiday, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales declined 14 percent on-year to 38,140 units last month from 44,123, while overseas sales were also down 2.7 percent to 211,002 from 216,792 during the cited period, it said. The monthly sales figures include special-purpose vehicle sales results. In the fourth quarter, the company plans to boost sales by launching the upgraded Sportage SUV along with the planned global launch of the all-electric EV3 compact SUV. From January to September, sales dropped 1.5 percent to 2,319,332 autos from 2,354,229 units in the same period of last year. Domestic sales declined 6.1 percent to 399,900 units in the first nine m onths from 425,875, while overseas sales were down 0.5 percent to 1,915,432 from 1,924,369 during the mentioned period. Source: Yonhap News Agency