SEOUL, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Global car sales by South Korean automakers managed to rise last month owing to export growth, industry data showed Monday.

Local carmakers, including Hyundai, Kia, GM Korea, Ssangyong and Renault Samsung, sold 719,003 vehicles globally in March, up 0.68 percent from the same month of last year.

Auto sales in the domestic market declined 4.44 percent from a year earlier to 139,432 vehicles last month, but the car export increased 2 percent to 579,571 units.

Domestic car sales by GM Korea, which announced plans to close down one of its five factories here by the end of May, tumbled 57.6 percent to 6,272 units in March, with its export shedding 3 percent to 34,988 vehicles.

Soft demand from GM Korea models in the domestic market pulled down the overall local car sales.

It was offset by strong sales by Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors, the country's top two carmakers, both in the local and overseas markets.

Hyundai's global auto sales rose 1.6 percent over the year to 397,041 units in March, with its domestic sales growing 6 percent and its overseas sales gaining 0.8 percent.

Kia's auto sales in the global market totaled 242,274 units in March, up 3.4 percent from a year earlier, due to solid demand both from local and overseas markets.

Renault Samsung's auto exports jumped 30.4 percent last month, offsetting a 25.8 percent decline in local sales.

Ssangyong's global car sales slumped 12.5 percent to 11,369 units in the cited period.