January Sees Decline in Vehicle Production, Domestic Sales, and Exports Amid Vehicle Semiconductor Shortage Crisis

'January Automobile Industry Trends'

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Due to the semiconductor supply crisis and the temporary shutdown of some factories for new car launches, automobile production, domestic sales, and exports all declined in January. However, exports exceeded $4 billion for three consecutive months due to increased sales of high value-added vehicles.

According to the "January Automobile Industry Trends" released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 15th, automobile production last month was recorded at 271,054 units, down 13.7% compared to the same period last year. Production decreased at Hyundai Motor's Asan plant, Korea GM's Changwon plant and Bupyeong 1 plant due to the vehicle semiconductor crisis and facility construction for new cars.

Domestic sales also fell 19.2% year-on-year to 111,294 units due to continued shutdowns and the semiconductor supply shortage. Among major automakers, Renault Samsung saw an increase in domestic sales thanks to its main models QM6 (up 45.1%) and XM3 (up 23.3%).

The top five best-selling passenger cars were all domestic models. The ranking was Genesis G80 (5,501 units), Avante (5,437 units), Sorento (5,066 units), Sportage (4,455 units), and Palisade (4,302 units).

Imported cars sold 17,331 units, down 22.3% year-on-year, with all brands except Japanese and French brands experiencing sales declines. Sales growth rates by country were France (up 12.2%), Japan (up 7.4%), UK (down 0.8%), Italy (down 11.1%), Sweden (down 14.5%), Germany (down 23.6%), and the US (down 38.9%).

Exports in the same month were 179,709 units, down 6.4% year-on-year. Export value exceeded $4 billion for three consecutive months due to increased exports of high value-added eco-friendly vehicles. This is the first time in 91 months since July 2014.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy analyzed that exports were affected by the base effect from last year's strong performance, factory shutdowns due to facility construction, and production volume decreases caused by the semiconductor supply shortage.

Domestic sales of eco-friendly vehicles decreased 2.3% year-on-year to 17,574 units, but exports increased 36.8% to 44,877 units. The export value rose 39.8% to $1.26 billion, achieving record highs for both domestic sales and export shares in January. Accordingly, the share of eco-friendly vehicles in total exports rose 7.9 percentage points from 17.1% in January last year to 25% last month.

Automobile parts exports increased evenly across all regions despite the ongoing semiconductor supply shortage, rising 14.2% year-on-year to $2.06 billion.

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