"South Korea Ranked 5th Globally in Automobile Production Last Year"

Production of 3.46 million units, down 1.3% from the previous year

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Despite the global semiconductor shortage last year, South Korea ranked 5th in global automobile production.

According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA)'s "2021 Status of Major Automobile Producing Countries Worldwide" released on the 28th, South Korea's automobile production last year was 3.46 million units, a 1.3% decrease compared to the previous year.

A KAMA official stated, "Despite consecutive adverse factors such as the global semiconductor crisis, we minimized the decline through inventory management and active efforts to secure semiconductors," adding, "It is analyzed that South Korea maintained its 5th place following the previous year."

Global automobile production last year reached 79.78 million units, a 2.0% increase from the previous year, limited by frequent global semiconductor supply disruptions and the resurgence of COVID-19 variants.

China ranked first with 26.082 million units produced. It was followed by the United States (9.154 million units), Japan (7.846 million units), and India (4.396 million units). India, which was 6th the previous year, jumped to 4th place with a 29.6% increase in production. Conversely, Germany, which was 4th, dropped to 6th place (3.427 million units) after an 8.8% decrease. The 7th to 10th places were Mexico (3.127 million units), Brazil (2.248 million units), Spain (2.098 million units), and Thailand (1.685 million units), respectively.

KAMA evaluated that countries with high export ratios such as Japan, South Korea, Germany, Mexico, and Spain showed a tendency for continued production decline due to limited export recovery amid ongoing semiconductor shortages, repeated global economic recessions, and bottlenecks in shipping and ports.

Additionally, China made efforts to export in order to resolve oversupply. As a result, exports surged by more than 100% last year, intensifying competition with South Korea.

Alongside this, countries like China and Spain expanded electric vehicle production through government intervention and support, increasing their production shares. China accounted for 13.6%, and Spain for 9.3%.

Jung Man-ki, Chairman of KAMA, emphasized, "Countries with vast domestic markets such as the United States and China can expect increased electric vehicle production through regulations and subsidies alone," but added, "For South Korea, which has a weak domestic market, investment support measures for multinational companies such as Korea GM and Renault Samsung are necessary."

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