'February Corona Shock'... Automobile Production Down 26.4% and Exports Down 25%

Ministry of Industry Announces 'February Monthly Trends in the Automobile Industry'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Last month, due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), domestic automobile production and exports decreased by more than 25% compared to the previous year.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 13th, the automobile industry last month saw production, domestic sales, and exports decrease by 26.4%, 18.8%, and 25.0% respectively compared to the same month last year. The major factors were disruptions in procuring Chinese-made parts due to COVID-19 and an overall contraction in consumer sentiment.

Automobile production in February recorded 189,235 units, down 26.4% from the same month last year. This was because as the impact of COVID-19 intensified last month, inventories of Chinese parts became insufficient, and factory operations were halted.

Specifically, the number of operating days decreased for finished car manufacturers such as Hyundai (10.6 days), Kia (8.9 days), GM (2 days), Ssangyong (8.5 days), and Renault (4 days). The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy estimated that automobile production decreased by about 130,000 units due to these COVID-19 effects.

In terms of domestic sales, due to supply disruptions of automobile parts and weakened consumer sentiment, sales recorded 97,897 units, down 18.8% compared to the same month last year. The ministry estimated that the domestic sales decline due to COVID-19 was about 33,000 units.

Sales of domestic cars recorded 81,064 units, down 22.0% compared to the same month last year. Although the Sonata and K5 increased by 6.9% and 3.8% respectively compared to the previous month due to new car effects, most other domestic models saw reduced sales due to the impact of COVID-19.

For imported cars, Japanese brands were sluggish (-52.5%), but German brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volkswagen showed sales recovery (23.4%), resulting in a 0.8% increase to 16,833 units compared to the same month last year.

Automobile exports were recorded at 123,022 units, down 25.0% compared to the same month last year, due to reduced volume caused by factory shutdowns. The ministry estimated that the export decrease due to COVID-19 was about 76,000 units.

However, as the export share of SUVs and eco-friendly vehicles expanded, the export value decreased relatively less. Last month, export value recorded $2.4 billion, down 16.6% compared to the same month last year.

Last month, the export share of SUVs rose by 12.6 percentage points from the same month last year to 71.9%, and eco-friendly vehicles increased by 2.9 percentage points to 11.9%.

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