South Korean carmakers' global automotive sale fell in the first month of this year as the Lunar New Year holiday reduced the number of working days, industry data showed Monday. The number of cars, sold globally by five local carmakers including Hyundai, Kia, Ssangyong, GM Korea and Renault Samsung, was 553,558 in January, down 6 percent from a year earlier. It came as the number of business days declined by 2.5 days in the month due to the Lunar New Year holiday. Hyundai Motor, the country's biggest automaker, sold a total of 304,076 vehicles globally last month. Hyundai's local car sale tumbled 21.3 percent over the year to 47,591 units in January, while the overseas sale added 0.6 percent to 256,485 vehicles. Kia Motors, affiliated with Hyundai, posted a global sale of 215,112 units in January, up 2.5 percent from a year ago. In the domestic market, Kia's auto sale slipped 2.5 percent to 37,050 units in the month, but the overseas sale grew 3.6 percent to 178,062 units. Ssangyong's global car sale tumbled 33 percent over the year to 7,653 units in January amid a weak demand both at home and abroad. GM Korea, the South Korean unit of the U.S. automaker General Motors, sold 20,484 vehicles globally in the month. The carmaker's local car sale inched up 0.9 percent, but its export plunged 54.3 percent. The local car sale by Renault Samsung contracted 16.8 percent from a year earlier to 4,303 units in January, and its export dropped 77.3 percent to 1,930 units. Source: Xinhua