Ssangyong Motor\'s sales jump 37.4 %

Ssangyong Motor Co., South Korea\'s smallest automaker, said Tuesday its sales jumped 37 percent on-year, helped by strong exports and domestic demand. The company sold 9,504 vehicles last month, compared with 6,915 units a year earlier. Domestic sales rose 21.7 percent on-year to 3,000 units with exports shooting up 46.2 percent to 6,504 vehicles. The carmaker, an affiliate of Indian sport utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., however, said overall sales fell 5.9 percent from a record high of 10.100 units reached in August. In the first nine months of the year, sales soared 50.4 percent on-year to 86,240 vehicles vis-a-vis 57,330 cars sold the year before. Exports spiked 61.7 percent to 56,055 units, including complete knock-down units that can be assembled into a car at overseas assembly lines, with domestic sales rising 33.2 percent to 30,185, the carmaker said.