"Thank You Eco-Friendly and Luxury Cars"…Last Month's Vehicle Export Value Doubled Compared to Last Year

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] Despite the shortage of automotive semiconductors, last month's automobile export value doubled compared to a year ago. Eco-friendly vehicles accounted for 25% of the total automobile export value.

According to the "May Monthly Trend of the Automobile Industry" announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 13th, automobile production increased by 10.9% and exports increased by 57.5% compared to the same period last year. Domestic sales decreased by 10.1%.

Production continued to rise for the second consecutive month, producing 256,272 units despite some factories being closed due to disruptions in the supply of automotive semiconductors. However, this was a 20.8% decrease compared to 323,644 units in April.

The cumulative production volume from the beginning of this year to April increased by 52.2% compared to the same period last year. Among the world's top 10 automobile producing countries, excluding China (54.0%) and India (59.9%), which showed a significant decline last year, this is the highest production growth rate.

Last month's exports recorded 150,894 units due to the base effect of reduced exports last year caused by COVID-19 and strong sales of key models such as the XM3.

The export value increased to $3.49 billion, nearly doubling (93.7%). This was driven by the expansion of exports of eco-friendly vehicles, premium brands such as Genesis, and high value-added models like sports utility vehicles (SUVs).

Domestic sales reached 151,699 units due to the effect of new car launches but decreased by more than 10% compared to last year. This was due to the "reverse base effect" caused by a temporary sales increase during the same period last year when COVID-19 was at its peak.

Looking only at eco-friendly vehicles, domestic sales increased by 56.5% to 26,983 units, and exports increased by 36.5% to 27,607 units, both rising for five consecutive months.

The proportion of eco-friendly vehicle exports accounted for 19% of the total. The export value of hybrid vehicles increased sharply (221.7%) to $870 million, accounting for 25% of the total passenger car export value.

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