GM Korea′s June sales fall 0.7 pct amid chip shortage

GM Korea-June sales

GM Korea's June sales fall 0.7 pct amid chip shortage

SEOUL, July 1 (Yonhap) -- GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., said Friday its sales fell 0.7 percent last month from a year earlier amid a global chip shortage.

GM Korea sold 26,688 vehicles in June, down from 26,876 units a year ago, as disruptions in chip supplies continued to affect vehicle production and sales, the company said in a statement.

Domestic sales declined 23 percent on-year to 4,433 units last month from 5,740, but exports rose 5.3 percent to 22,255 from 21,136 over the cited period on strong demand for the Trailblazer SUV, it said.

From January to June, sales declined 21 percent to 122,756 autos from 154,783 a year earlier.

In a two-track brand strategy, GM Korea sells domestically produced and imported vehicles in Asia's fourth-biggest economy.

Its lineup is composed of four locally assembled models -- the Spark mini car, the Malibu sedan, and the Trailblazer and Trax SUVs -- and five imported ones -- the Colorado pickup, the Bolt all-electric car, and the Equinox, Traverse and Tahoe SUVs.

Most of the models currently sold in South Korea are from the Chevrolet brand.

GM Korea plans to launch the GMC brand in the second half, with the Sierra Denali set to be released as the brand's launch model in the Korean market.

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