President Moon Visits Eco-Friendly Car Export Site... First Economic Move of the New Year

President Moon Jae-in is attaching a commemorative flag to the first eco-friendly car export of 2020, the 'Niro,' at Pyeongtaek Port on the 3rd.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] President Moon Jae-in visited a domestic eco-friendly car export site on the morning of the 3rd as his first economic schedule of the new year. President Moon said, "We are starting a new decade to leap forward as one of the world's top four export powerhouses by 2030," adding, "Today's eco-friendly car exports are even more valuable as they are achievements made with the world's best technology." This visit reflects an extraordinary determination to recover last year's sluggish exports.

At around 10:30 a.m. that day, President Moon visited the Pyeongtaek-Dangjin Port, a dedicated automobile terminal, and addressed electric and hydrogen car developers and loading workers, saying, "Congratulations on the start of our eco-friendly car exports from the beginning of the new year." Approximately 4,200 eco-friendly vehicles, including Kia Motors' 'Niro' and the hydrogen truck 'Neptune,' were exported to Europe, the homeland of automobiles, from Pyeongtaek-Dangjin Port that day.

The Niro, which earned the title of '2020's first eco-friendly car export,' is the best-selling eco-friendly car model domestically (with 109,000 units exported last year) and is currently exported to 60 countries worldwide. It was also selected as the '2019 Electric Vehicle of the Year' in Europe and the United States.

President Moon evaluated, "We were the world's first to succeed in mass-producing hydrogen cars and achieved the world's best eco-friendly car energy efficiency." He added, "Last year, electric vehicle exports doubled, hydrogen vehicle exports more than tripled, and the cumulative number of eco-friendly cars exported exceeded 740,000 units." He continued, "We will actively support making the eco-friendly car industry the world's best industry and enabling our cars to travel more widely around the world. We will invest more than 380 billion won in technology development by 2025 to help develop the world's best eco-friendly cars."

However, conscious of last year's sluggish exports, he emphasized, "The global economy and trade conditions this year will improve compared to last year," and added, "The government will make every effort to turn export indicators positive and accelerate innovative growth."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.