Hyundai Motor March sales down 1.8 pct on exports

SEOUL, Apr 2 (Reuters) Hyundai Motor Co. , South Korea's top auto maker, said on Monday its March sales fell 1.8 percent on weaker exports.

The figure comes amid worries that a slowing U.S. economy due to the subprime mortgage woes might hit demand from the world's top auto market.

Despite falling sales, shares in Hyundai rose 3.3 percent as investors home in on news that South Korea agreed to a free trade deal with the United States, raising the prospect of improving returns.

Hyundai, the world's sixth-largest auto maker by sales volume along with its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. , said it sold 229,692 vehicles last month, down from 233,899 a year ago.

Hyundai, which makes the Santa Fe utility vehicle, said its March exports fell 3.7 percent to 175,614 units from a year before with U.S. sales down about 3 percent.

That compared with commerce ministry data showing earlier in the day that South Korean auto makers' overall exports rose around 5.3 percent in value in March from a year earlier.

Hyundai's domestic sales rose 5.1 percent to 54,078 units.

''Last month, we had few fleet sales, which were good and had boosted overall U.S. sales a year ago,'' said Hyundai spokesman Jake Jang. Fleet sales mean the low-margin sales to daily rental companies and government agencies.

But he played down the impact of the U.S. subprime mortgage on its sales in the United States.

U.S. sales for General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. were stuck in the slow lane in March as a weakening housing market dampened pickup truck sales, analysts said.

Among exports, sales from Hyundai's overseas plants fell 0.9 percent to 78,574 vehicles, with exports from local plants down 5.9 percent.

Hyundai has factories in the United States, China, India and Turkey.

Hyundai's total sales in March rose 22.7 percent from revised 187,271 units in February, with exports up 22.1 percent from 143,813 in the previous month.

Domestic sales grew 24.4 percent in March from 43,458 in February.

Hyundai shares rose 3.3 percent to close at 68,300 won, outperforming a 0.48 percent gain in the broader share market <.ks11>.

REUTERS SRS DS1437