According to sales figures released on Sunday by the country's five major automakers Hyundai, Kia, GM Korea, Renault Korea, and KG Mobility, the combined sales of small vehicles in the first ten months of this year stood at around 60,000 units, down 27.3 percent from the same period last year.
If this trend continues, annual sales are likely to hit a record low of about 70,000 units, falling below 100,000 units for the second consecutive year.
No new small or compact models have been launched since 2023. The only models currently available are Hyundai's entry-level sport utility vehicle (SUV) Casper and Kia's compact models, the Ray and the Morning.
Following the discontinuation of Chevrolet's Spark, one of the key models that had led the compact car market until a few years ago, sales of the Casper, which had been popular with over 30,000 units sold annually, have dropped sharply, with only 6,725 units sold from January to October this year.
The decline is attributed to the lack of new compact models and the growing popularity of SUVs, fueled by rising interest in leisure activities such as camping.
But compact cars remain in demand on the used car market. According to Market tracker Carisyou, he Morning and Spark were the top two models in used car transactions during the third quarter of this year.
* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
