Electric Vehicles and Internal Combustion Engines, Last Year's 'Record High' Drivers of Exports to the U.S.

Electric Vehicle Exports Up 62.3% Year-on-Year to $9.9 Billion
Market Share in the US Declines
Internal Combustion Engine Export Value Also Rises 39.4% YoY
Mobile Phone Exports Increase for the First Time in 6 Years

Electric vehicles and internal combustion engines played a leading role in achieving record-high exports to the United States last year.

Pyeongtaek Port automobile export volume. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

According to the Korea International Trade Association on the 16th, the export value of automobiles to the U.S. last year was $32.2 billion (approximately 42 trillion KRW), a 44.6% increase from the previous year. This was the highest ever and the largest among export items to the U.S.

In particular, from January to November last year, 1,172,612 vehicles were exported to the U.S., marking the first time since 2015 (1,066,164 units) that exports exceeded one million units, demonstrating the remarkable performance of these vehicles. The export value of eco-friendly vehicles such as electric vehicles, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids to the U.S. last year was $9.9 billion, a significant 62.3% increase from $6.1 billion the previous year.

Among these, electric vehicle exports amounted to $5 billion, up 83.9% from the previous year, while hybrid vehicle exports reached $3.9 billion, a 55% increase. Plug-in hybrid vehicle exports increased by 3.1% to $1 billion compared to the previous year.

Although the demand for eco-friendly vehicles in the U.S. increased, and the import value of our eco-friendly vehicles rose, the market share of our eco-friendly vehicles in the U.S. electric and hybrid vehicle import market declined. Based on import value, the market share of our electric vehicles in the U.S. import market was 23.5%, down 1.3 percentage points from the previous year, ranking second after Germany. For hybrid vehicles, the U.S. import market share dropped 5 percentage points to 21.4%, ranking second after Japan.

The export value of internal combustion engine vehicles to the U.S. also increased last year. Our internal combustion engine vehicle exports to the U.S. amounted to $22.3 billion, a 39.4% increase from $16 billion the previous year. Notably, exports of small cars (engine displacement 1000?1500 cc) and large cars (over 3000 cc) increased significantly. Small car exports reached $6.9 billion, up 96.1% from the previous year, while large car exports were $6.4 billion, a 43.2% increase.

Meanwhile, petroleum products ($5.7 billion), batteries ($4.8 billion), and computer parts and accessories ($3.8 billion) were among the top 10 Korean export items to the U.S., along with automobiles and automobile parts.

Exports of mobile phones and parts barely made it into the top 10 with $1.6 billion (10th place), but after a continuous decline since 2017, they turned to an upward trend last year. The export value increased by 30.4% compared to the previous year.

Lee Huigwon, head of the Washington branch of the Korea International Trade Association, explained, "The increase in Korean smartphone exports to the U.S. is due to Samsung Electronics reducing its production concentration of over 50% in Vietnam at the end of 2022."

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