GM’s Aggressive Marketing Campaign Pays Off; North American Sales Up 41 Percent

The “aggressive marketing” of General Motors is said to be having excellent effects in North America’s automotive market.

According to the auto industry and the Associated Press on July 3, GM sold 558,092 cars and trucks in the North American market last month which brought about 41 percent growth compared to the same period last year. GM has mounted an ¡°Employee Discount`` Campaign starting June 1. As a result, 150,000 new customers have been attracted and its market share has jumped from 25 percent to 32 percent.

Ford, the second in the auto industry, sold 289,449 units and its growth rate increased by one percent year-on-year. DaimlerChrysler has grown by five percent on sales of 238,274 vehicles.

However, automobile experts predict that GM will no longer be able to boost sales once its discount sale ends.

Japanese auto makers’ sales in North America, which have increased, still fall short of GM’s. With its sales up by 10 percent, Toyota has sold 194,875 vehicles. Nissan’s sales are up 14 percent on sales of 92,781 cars.

In the case of Korea, Hyundai has sold 43,051 vehicles adding to its growth rate by 4.1 percent, while Kia has sold just 27,095 cars, so its growth rate has dropped by 2 percent compared to last June.

Toyota has recently decided to raise the price of 4 kinds of cars, including its mid-size sedan, the Camry, which is being sold in the U.S. market, by 0.7-1.5 percent. The industry thinks that the price has been increased in order to avoid friction with the U.S. car industry.

Sung-Won Joo swon@donga.com