Korea Reclaims Title as World's 5th Largest Car Producer Last Year... Market Share Also Up 0.2%

Last Year's Production Decline Limited to 11%... Surpasses India and Mexico to Reclaim 5th Place After 5 Years

On the 21st, one day before the Chuseok holiday, export vehicles are waiting to be loaded at Pyeongtaek Port in Gyeonggi Province. (Aerial photography cooperation = Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Aviation Unit Chief Lieutenant Colonel Lee Sang-yeol, Pilot Lieutenant Kim Doo-soo, Crew Lieutenant Kwak Sung-ho, Sergeant Park Sang-jin) / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] South Korea has reclaimed the title of the world's 5th largest automobile manufacturer after five years. Although automobile production worldwide significantly declined due to the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea's decrease was relatively small.

According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA)'s "Top 10 Automobile Producing Countries in 2020" report released on the 8th, South Korea produced a total of 3.51 million vehicles last year, rising to the 5th largest automobile producer globally. This marks the first time in five years since South Korea lost the 5th position to India in 2016.

According to KAMA, global automobile production decreased sharply by 15.5% last year. All of the top 10 producing countries?China, the United States, Japan, Germany, South Korea, India, Mexico, Spain, Brazil, and Russia?experienced declines in production volume. China, ranked first, saw a 2.0% decrease; the United States, second, 19.0%; Japan, third, 16.7%; and Germany, fourth, 24.7%. However, there were no changes in their rankings.

South Korea, ranked fifth, experienced an 11.2% decrease, but the relatively smaller decline allowed it to rise two places from 7th in 2019 to 5th last year. India and Mexico fell one rank each to 6th and 7th, with decreases of 24.9% and 21.2%, respectively. Russia, with a 15.7% decrease, entered the top 10 for the first time since 2000.

As the top 10 producing countries showed differences in production decline rates, their shares of global automobile production also shifted. Thanks to a rapid recovery from COVID-19, China's global production share expanded significantly from 27.8% (25.72 million units) in 2019 to 32.2% (25.23 million units). China also increased its electric vehicle production and sales by 7.5% and 10.9%, respectively, further expanding its influence in this sector.

South Korea's exports decreased by 21.4% due to the impact of COVID-19, but strong domestic demand led to a 4.7% increase in domestic sales of locally produced vehicles, resulting in a 0.2 percentage point rise in its global automobile production share to 4.5%.

Jung Man-ki, Chairman of KAMA, stated, "Reclaiming the 5th position among automobile producing countries amid difficulties is a significant achievement. However, considering changes such as China's rapid advancement, efforts toward innovation?especially in smartization, premiumization, and electrification?need to be further strengthened." He added, "The government should continue to expand support policies for competitiveness, including bold regulatory reforms and R&D, and shareholders, management, and workers should accumulate cooperative experiences based on the recognition that they are one team."

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