SEOUL, July 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's global car sale posted a double-digit fall last month due to weak demand, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic across the world, industry data showed Wednesday.

The number of cars sold globally by five local automakers, including Hyundai, Kia, GM Korea, Renault Samsung and Ssangyong, was 581,186 in June, down 19.2 percent from the same month of last year.

In the domestic market, the automotive sale jumped 41.2 percent over the year to 176,468 vehicles in June thanks to a temporary tax cut for vehicle purchase.

However, the number of cars sold overseas plunged 31.9 percent from a year earlier to 404,718 last month on the back of an economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Hyundai Motor, the country's biggest automaker, saw its global automotive sale decline 23 percent in June year-on-year. Hyundai's local car sale jumped 37.2 percent, but its overseas sale tumbled 34.2 percent.

Kia Motors, affiliated with Hyundai, logged a double-digit reduction in global car sales, but its domestic vehicle sale surged 41.5 percent, offsetting a 23.8-percent drop in overseas auto sale.

Global car sale by GM Korea and Renault Samsung retreated more than 20 percent owing to soft global demand, but Ssangyong's auto sale inched down 1.9 percent thanks to strong export.

During the January-June period, the global car sale by domestic automakers was 3,244,549 units, down 21.5 percent compared with the same period of last year.

The local automotive sale gained 6.0 percent to 800,089 units in the first half, but sale in the overseas market dived 27.6 percent to 2,444,460 vehicles. Enditem

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