Ssangyong Motor

SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Yonhap) -- Ssangyong Motor Co., the local unit of Indian auto conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said Monday that its January sales dropped 2.3 percent from a year earlier due mainly to sluggish domestic demand.

Ssangyong Motor sold 10,082 units last month, compared with 10,321 units a year earlier, the company said in a press release. The figure does not include complete knockdown kits that are assembled abroad.

Overseas shipments edged up 0.2 percent on-year to 3,511 units, but domestic sales shrank 3.6 percent to 6,571 units.

Ssangyong Motor attributed the weak domestic sales to the absence of temporary tax benefits for car purchases, which expired at the end of last year.