Hyundai, Kia report poor April sales amid chip shortage

Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia said on Monday their vehicle sales continued to fall last month due to the impact of the global chip shortage on vehicle production.

Hyundai Motor’s sales fell 12 per cent to 308,788 vehicles from 349,184 units a year earlier, while Kia’s declined 5.8 per cent to 238,538 from 253,287 during the same period, reports Yonhap News Agency.

To minimise the impact of disrupted supplies of semiconductors, the two South Korean carmakers will adjust vehicle production in their global plants and launch “new, competitive” models, Hyundai said.

Global carmakers such as BMW and Volkswagen recently expected the semiconductor situation to ease from this year, but the shortage will not normalize until 2024.

Hyundai’s domestic sales fell 15 per cent to 59,415 units last month from 70,219 a year ago, while overseas sales were down 11 per cent to 249,373 from 278,965 during the cited period.

Kia’s domestic sales dropped 2 per cent on-year to 50,095 units last month from 51,128, while overseas sales were down 6.8 per cent to 188,443 from 202,159.

From January to April, Hyundai’s sales fell 10 per cent to 1,211,733 autos from 1,349,012 units a year earlier, while Kia’s declined 2 per cent to 924,277 from 943,277.

Hyundai expects parts supply shortages fueled by the lockdown in Shanghai and high raw materials costs driven by the Russia-Ukraine war will remain major woes for carmakers in the second quarter.

In 2022, Hyundai aims to sell 4.32 million vehicles, 10 per cent higher than its sales of 3.89 million units a year ago.

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