South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. that is rapidly losing ground in China amid the ongoing diplomatic row between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area (THAAD) system is about to stop shipping its Korea-made cars to the world’s biggest car market.

According to a news report by Beijing Business Today on Tuesday, Hyundai Motor’s import car selling unit that is in charge of distribution and sale of Korea-made Hyundai Motor cars in China is on the brink of shutdown after its shipments of Hyundai Motor import cars in the country has remained zero for the first seven months of this year.

Hyundai Motor has been selling its vehicles through two different channels in China. A majority of its cars on sale in the country are locally manufactured by Beijing Hyundai, a joint venture with Beijing-based BAIC Motor Corp. while the rest are imported from the factories in Korea. Hyundai Motor car models that are not manufactured in China, such as upmarket model Equus, Genesis, and Grandeur sedans, have been imported to China and sold by the import entity.

Before its import car sales hit zero in China, Hyundai Motor had already seen a sharp fall in sales of these import models in the country with its car production in China increasing and a lack of its brand awareness as a premium car maker.

Then the diplomatic row over the antimissile system that began last year has aggravated the situation, leading Hyundai Motor to rapidly lose ground against Chinese rivals amid growing hostility toward Korean cars and other products.

Hyundai Motor car dealers that have been supplied with Korea-made Hyundai Motor cars are currently trying to clear their stock by selling them at discounted prices.

Five years ago, 28,000 units of imported Hyundai Motor cars were sold in China, but last year, the figure dropped to 1,800 units. This year so far, the import entity has been unable to sell a single car.

Beijing Business Today reported that the plunge in Hyundai Motor import car sales has led the Korean auto giant’s import entity in China to halt car supply to its dealers and that the entity is “silently being kicked out” from the Chinese market.

In spite of this, Hyundai Motor is unlikely to pursue permanent shutdown of its import car business in China. Hyundai Motor is reportedly planning to rebuild its import organization in the country in the future by promoting Genesis sale, according to sources.

By Park Man-won

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]