GM Korea's September sales surge 73.3% on strong exports

GM Korea, the Korean unit of General Motors, said Thursday its sales surged 73.3 percent in September from a year earlier, driven by strong overseas demand. The company sold 41,101 vehicles last month, up from 23,723 units a year earlier, on robust sales of the Chevrolet Trax Crossover and the Trailblazer sport utility vehicle (SUV), GM Korea said in a press release. Domestic sales fell 40.9 percent to 727 units from 1,231, while exports jumped 79.5 percent to 40,374 from 22,492. From January to September, sales rose 17 percent to 381,785 units from 326,381 in the year-ago period. Domestic sales plunged 36.4 percent to 7,495 from 11,785 during the same period, while exports climbed 19 percent to 374,290 from 314,596. As part of its two-track strategy, GM Korea sells both locally assembled and imported vehicles in Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy. Its current lineup consists of two locally assembled models — the Trailblazer and Trax Crossover — and one imported model, the GMC Sierra Denali. The Buick Electra E7 plug-in hybrid SUV is expected to be added to the lineup as early as next