Renault Korea Motors, the South Korean unit of Renault S.A., said Monday its sales plunged 56 percent last month from a year earlier due to a sharp decline in exports.
Renault Korea sold 6,678 vehicles in May, down from 15,154 units a year earlier as domestic sales nosedived, the company said in a statement.
Domestic sales rose 6.9 percent to 1,901 units from 1,778 during the same period but exports plummeted 64 percent on-year to 4,777 from 13,376, it said.
From January to May, its sales declined 42 percent to 33,131 autos from 57,550 in the same period last year.
Domestic sales fell 13 percent to 9,172 units in the first five months from 10,549, while exports dropped 49 percent to 23,959 from 47,001 during the same period.
To revive sales, Renault Korea has said it will focus on gasoline hybrid models, while making preparations for the production of all-electric models.
Renault Korea currently sells one gasoline hybrid model, the hybrid electric version of the Arkana compact SUV. Its lineup also incl
udes three gasoline-powered ones: the Arkana, QM6 SUV and SM6 midsize sedan.
Renault Korea plans to add a midsized gasoline hybrid SUV model to the lineup later this year under its Aurora 1 project.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
