February Auto Exports Down 18.5%, Domestic Sales Down 7.2%, Production Down 21%... "Triple Decline"

Impact of the Lunar New Year Holiday

Eco-Friendly Vehicle Exports Reach Record $4.5 Billion

Electric Vehicle Sales Surge by 156%

Car Awaiting Export. Photo by Yonhap News

In February this year, the automotive industry saw declines in exports, domestic sales, and production, mainly due to a reduction in the number of working days caused by the Lunar New Year holiday. However, eco-friendly vehicles helped partially offset the downturn, maintaining solid performance in both exports and domestic markets.

According to the "Automotive Industry Trends for February 2026" released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on March 18, automobile exports in February totaled 190,000 units, down 18.5% from the same month last year. Export value also dropped by 20.8% to 4.8 billion dollars.

Domestic sales fell by 7.2% to 123,000 units, and production decreased by 21.0% to 278,000 units, marking a "triple decline." The ministry attributed this largely to a reduction of three working days during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Eco-friendly vehicles, however, performed relatively well. Exports of eco-friendly vehicles in February saw only a slight drop of about 2-3% year-on-year, driven by increased exports of hybrid vehicles.

Notably, the cumulative export value of eco-friendly vehicles for January and February this year reached a record high of 4.5 billion dollars, representing a 20.4% increase compared to the same period last year.

In the domestic market, the growth of eco-friendly vehicles was even more pronounced. Sales of eco-friendly vehicles in February totaled 76,000 units, up 26.3% year-on-year. Within this, electric vehicle sales soared to 36,000 units, a remarkable jump of 156.2%.

By model, Sorento, Tesla Model Y, and Sonata ranked among the top in sales.

By export region, North America and the United States saw the largest declines. Exports to the United States fell by 29.4% year-on-year, while total exports to North America dropped by 23.9%. In contrast, some regions such as Central and South America and parts of Europe saw increases.

By company, Hyundai Motor and Kia both experienced declines in production and exports. However, Korea GM and Renault Korea Motors showed relatively stable performance, mainly due to certain models.

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