Ssangyong Motor Staff Shocked by Massive Layoff Plan Ssangyong Bailout Hinges on Better Productivity Ssangyong Gets Reprieve Bankruptcy Looms for Ssangyong Subcontractors Hyundai-Kia Workers Seek Solidarity Overseas Hyundai-Kia Gains U.S. Market Share Despite Sales Drop Hyundai, Kia Post Impressive 2008 Sales Kia Motors' Cee'd Rated Top by French Magazine China Overtakes U.S. in Car Sales Koreans Turn Back on Imported Cars Sales of Korean Cars Increase in Canada China's Carmakers Zooming Ahead Foreign Cars Top 6% Market Share for 1st Time Korean Auto Production Ranks 5th for 4th Year

In the overseas market in January, Hyundai sold 143,648 cars, down 25.3 percent from a year ago. In the U.S. market, the company saw sales plummet 32 percent from Jan. 2008, and demand in newly emerging markets, such as Russia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, has fallen quickly.

The domestic situation is even worse. Hyundai sold 35,396 cars domestically last month, down 31.8 percent from a year ago.

"The impact of the continuing global economic crisis is spreading to new markets. The outlook for the global automobile industry seems pessimistic," said an official at Hyundai Motor. "We will react flexibly to the quick changes made in the markets. We will increase the supply of small cars, demand for which has grown recently, and introduce innovative sales strategies, such as the Hyundai Assurance program implemented in the U.S. market, to expand our exports," he added.

(englishnews@chosun.com )