GM Korea’s Sales Jump 26.6% on Chevrolet Exports as Hyundai Slips 6.3% and Korean Factory Growth Cools

Photo: MercurySable99, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (file photo, May 2024). A 2024 Chevrolet Trax, a model GM Korea builds for export, photographed in New Castle, Pennsylvania.

South Korea’s five domestic carmakers reported October sales on Monday, Nov. 2, and the results split sharply. GM Korea, the local unit of General Motors that builds the Chevrolet Trax and Trailblazer for American buyers, posted a 26.6% jump on exports. Hyundai Motor, the country’s largest automaker, said its global sales fell 6.3%. Taken together, South Korea automakers’ October sales rose just 1.6%, as a separate survey showed factory growth slowing to an eight-month low.

The figures arrived a day after the trade ministry said South Korea’s October exports nearly doubled on surging chip sales. Monday’s company data show that the gains were concentrated in a few export models rather than spread across the industry.

GM Korea rides two Chevrolet SUVs

GM Korea sold 50,189 vehicles in October, up from 39,630 a year earlier, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing a company release. Exports rose 28.5% to 49,390 units, while domestic sales fell 33.1% to just 799. Overseas shipments of the Chevrolet Trax Crossover, including derivative models, climbed 25.7% to 30,519, and the Trailblazer rose 33.2% to 18,871, according to The Herald Business. It was the second month this year above 50,000 units, after March, and January-October sales reached 431,974, up 18%.

The company does not publish where each month’s exports go. But the United States is its dominant market: The Korea Herald reported in February that 83.8% of GM Korea’s 2025 production, or 418,792 vehicles, was shipped to the U.S., with the Trax and Trailblazer at the core of those shipments.

Hyundai slips while Kia extends its streak

Hyundai Motor sold 329,773 vehicles worldwide, down from 352,083 a year earlier, according to its Korean-language release. Domestic sales fell 8.9% to 49,042 and overseas sales fell 5.9% to 280,731. Yonhap attributed the decline to sluggish demand at home and abroad, and put Hyundai’s January-October total at 3,218,586, down 6.9%. The company said it would respond with more efficient production and new models, including a revamped Tucson SUV and a hybrid GV80.

Sister company Kia moved the other way. It sold 291,219 vehicles on a wholesale basis, up 10.3%, its release said, marking an eighth straight month of year-on-year growth. Domestic sales jumped 27.5% to 51,007 and overseas sales rose 7.2% to 239,308, with another 904 special-purpose military vehicles. The Sportage was its top seller worldwide at 56,811 units, ahead of the Seltos and Sorento. Kia said it would try to keep growing in the fourth quarter with hybrids in the United States and electric models in Europe.

The two smallest makers both shrank. KG Mobility’s sales fell 31.3% to 6,537, with domestic sales down 42.4% and exports down 24.7%, which the company blamed on weak demand, Yonhap reported. Renault Korea sold 5,503 vehicles, down 23.6% from 7,201, per Yonhap.

By the numbers: one maker carried the gain

All five companies sold a combined 683,221 vehicles, a 1.6% increase, a total also reported by the Korean outlet eToday. A Boston Report calculation from the company figures shows how narrow that gain was. GM Korea added 10,559 units from a year earlier and Kia added 27,202, while Hyundai lost 22,310 and Renault Korea lost 1,698. Without GM Korea’s jump, the industry’s combined sales would have been roughly flat.

Hyundai and Kia still account for about 91% of all five makers’ October volume, by our calculation, so their direction matters most. Hyundai’s overseas business alone, at 280,731 units, was larger than Kia’s entire overseas total. GM Korea, by contrast, now depends on exports for more than 98% of its sales.

Factories cool as U.S. demand softens

A separate gauge of the manufacturing sector pointed the same way. South Korea’s purchasing managers’ index, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 51.3 in October from 53.9 in September, the lowest reading since February, Reuters reported. It was still the 11th straight month above 50, the line between growth and contraction. Output grew at its slowest pace in 10 months and new orders at the weakest in four, with some firms noting softer demand for automobiles. Asia-Pacific buyers supported export orders, while U.S. demand was described as relatively subdued. The survey did not name individual companies.

“Firms frequently cited slowing demand, raw material shortages and high costs as drags on performance,” said Usamah Bhatti, an economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. The slowdown echoes signals elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, where China’s official factory PMI slipped to 49.3 in October as export orders shrank.

Investors looked past the auto data. The benchmark KOSPI rebounded 2.24% to 5,859.08 on Monday after falling more than 3% on Friday, Yonhap reported, as buyers returned to chip stocks. The won weakened against the dollar.

What to watch

Hyundai Motor America and Kia America usually report U.S. retail sales separately from the global wholesale figures above, and those numbers will show whether American demand is holding up for Korean brands. Korea’s October consumer price data is due Tuesday morning in Seoul.

Sources

• Hyundai Motor Group: Hyundai Motor October 2026 sales (Korean)
• Hyundai Motor Group: Kia October 2026 sales (Korean)
• Yonhap: GM Korea’s Oct. sales jump 26.6 pct on strong exports
• The Herald Business: GM Korea posts 26.6% sales increase in October
• Yonhap: Hyundai Motor’s Oct. sales fall 6.3 pct amid sluggish demand
• Yonhap: Kia’s Oct. sales rise 10 pct on strong SUV demand
• Yonhap: KG Mobility’s Oct. sales drop 31.3 pct
• Yonhap: Renault Korea’s sales drop 23.6 pct in Oct.
• eToday: Five automakers’ October sales (Korean)
• Reuters via U.S. News: South Korea factory activity growth slows to 8-month low
• The Korea Herald: GM Korea production and U.S. shipments (Feb. 3, 2026)
• Yonhap: Seoul stocks rebound over 2 pct

Additional sources

• Kia’s domestic and overseas growth rates exclude special-purpose vehicles, according to the company’s release. Military vehicle sales rose 12.9% to 904 units (Yonhap).
• GM Korea’s October exports were 22.3% higher than September’s 40,374 units, and domestic sales of the Trax Crossover fell 42% to 556 (The Herald Business).
• Within Kia’s home market, the Sportage was the best seller at 7,708 units (Kia release).