[THE INVESTOR] Kia Motors’ sales last month fell slightly from a year earlier, due mostly to a decline in domestic sales, Korea’s second largest automaker said Aug. 1.

In July, overall sales came to 229,007 cars, down 2.1 percent from the same month last year.

Domestic sales dropped 8.7 percent on-year to 44,007, partly due to the June 30 termination of a temporary tax cut on new cars, the company said in a press release.

Overseas sales inched down 0.7 percent to 185,000 over the cited period.

For the first seven months of the year, overall sales slipped 4.3 percent on-year to 1,686,605 units, with domestic sales plunging 10.3 percent and overseas sales falling 7.2 percent.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)