Hyundai Motor's Sept. sales drop 16 pct on fewer working days

Hyundai Motor, South Korea's largest automaker, reported a 16 percent decline in sales for September compared to the previous year, according to a company press release. The drop was attributed to fewer working days due to the Chuseok holiday, which led to lower domestic sales plummeting by 25.7 percent to 49,022 units, down from 66,001 units a year earlier.

Overseas sales also fell 13.9 percent to 258,976 units, from 300,730 units. Hyundai plans to introduce the new Tucson SUV in the domestic market as part of its strategy to expand its SUV lineup. From January to September, Hyundai's cumulative sales dropped by 7 percent to 2,886,763 vehicles, compared to 3,105,346 units a year earlier.

In the first nine months, domestic sales declined 16.3 percent to 448,181 units, compared to 535,458 units last year, while overseas sales decreased by 5.1 percent to 2,438,582 units from 2,569,888 units.