South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co.’s newest premium flagship Grandeur is on a roll, selling more than 10,000 units monthly in its first three months.

According to vehicle shipment data compiled by five domestic automakers in February, Hyundai Motor’s Grandeur sedan, known as the Azera in overseas markets, has remained top-seller in Korea for two months in a row with total shipments of its old and new models reaching 10,913 units last month. Appetite for the new model stayed unfazed last month, selling 9,990 units, up from 9,414 units in January. The automaker’s Porter 1-ton pickup ranked second with 7,691 units, followed by its compact sedan Avante 7,353 units, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp.’s Morning that topped the compact car segment with 6,156 units.

Overall domestic sales of Kia Motors rose just 0.1 percent, due to lackluster demand in its “K” series sedans K5 and K7.

GM Korea Co. was the only automaker in Korea to see its shipment dwindle at home last month from a year-ago period, as delivery of its anticipated compact sedan Chevrolet Cruze was put off to March due to air bag problem.

Renault Samsung Motors Co. saw its global sales surge by 34.3 percent in February helped by brisk sales of its new SM6 midsize sedan and QM6 sport utility vehicle (SUV). SM6 sold 3,900 units, while QM6 sold 2,513 units last month.

Ssangyong Motor Co. posted a 2.3 percent jump on year thanks to compact SUV Tivoli.

Combined sales of Korea’s five major automakers - Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors and Ssangyong Motor - totaled 645,932 units at home and abroad in February, up 2.5 percent from 629,881 units sold in the same month last year.

In the domestic market, the five carmakers delivered a combined 119,612 cars last month, gaining 8.1 percent from a year earlier as they upped marketing promotions.

By Woo Je-yoon

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