Global auto sales of S. Korean firms surge

South Korean carmakers’ global automobile sales rose in three years last year due to a temporary tax cut for car purchases in the local market and solid demand from emerging economies, industry data showed on Wednesday. Global auto sales by Hyundai, Kia, GM Korea, Renault Samsung and Ssangyong totaled 8,231,418 vehicles in 2018, up 0.4 percent from the previous year. It was the first growth in three years after falling in 2016 and 2017. Despite the weak private consumption, domestic car sales reached 1,545,604 units in 2018, down 0.3 percent from a year earlier thanks to the government’s temporary consumption tax cut.