[THE INVESTOR] Kia Motors said on Oct. 4 that its global sales gained 3.1 percent from a year earlier last month despite a large cut in domestic sales caused by a series of labor walkouts.

The automaker sold 235,413 vehicles globally in September, compared with 228,333 cars sold in the same month last year, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Domestic sales plunged 14.9 percent on-year to 38,300 cars as its domestic output suffered a large cut due to labor strikes.

Overseas sales helped more than offset the drop in sales here as both the company’s overseas production and sales jumped 27.7 percent and 7.5 percent on-year, respectively.

In the January-September period, Kia Motors sold 2,142,584 cars globally, down 2.1 percent from the same period last year.

Domestic sales gained 5 percent on-year to 396,460 units while exports slipped 3.5 percent to 1,746,124 cars over the cited period.

Shares of Kia Motors on the Seoul bourse closed 0.36 percent higher at 42,300 won (US$38.15) on Oct. 4. The September sales were released shortly after the market closed at 3:30 p.m.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)