Korea’s Auto Exports Hit Record High of US$35.7 Billion in H1

In the first half of this year, Korea’s automobile exports surged 46.6 percent year on year to US$35.7 billion, a record high. Including auto parts, the figure reached US$47.3 billion.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) on July 17, Korean automakers exported more than 241,900 general cars in June, earning US$6.23 billion in exports, while their eco-friendly cars exports reached more than 68,100 units worth US$2.21 billion. Korea’s total car export amount from January to June stood at US$47.3 billion, giving the green light to the Korean government’s goal of achieving US$80 billion in automotive exports this year.

In particular, exports of eco-friendly vehicles (electric, plug-in hybrid, hybrid, hydrogen cars) reached US$12.4 billion in the first half of this year, up 70.4 percent year on year. The number of Korea’s exported eco-friendly vehicles stood at 384,600, or one out of every four exported Korean vehicles. Of these, electric vehicles totaled 182,000 units, accounting for about half (47.4 percent) of eco-friendly vehicle exports.

In the first half of this year, Korea’s auto production increased by 23.5 percent year on year to 2,197,600 units as the supply of parts such as automotive semiconductors normalized. It was the first time in four years since 2019 that production has recovered to 2 million units.

In detail, Korea produced a total of 2.197 million units and exported 1.431 million of them in the first half. This represented a 23.5 percent increase in production and a 32.6 percent increase in exports compared to the first half of last year. Of the US$35.674 billion in automobile exports, eco-friendly vehicles accounted for US$1.246 million.

By region, Korea’s car exports to North America reached US$444 million in June, up 20.4 percent year on year, while Korean car sales in the EU (US$261 million, up 31.4 percent) and the rest of Europe (US$358 million, up 22.8 percent) increased significantly. On the other hand, Korea’s car exports to Asia stood at US$39 million, down slightly by 2.8 percent year on year.

In June, Korean auto parts exports showed globally balanced growth with US$721 million in exports to North America (down 3.6 percent year on year), US$369 million in exports to EU (up 23.1 percent), US$473 million in exports to Asia (up 5.5 percent), US$251 million in exports to Latin America (up 3.9 percent), US$84 million in exports to the rest of Europe (up 40.7 percent), US$74 million in exports to the Middle East (up 1.0 percent), US$14 million in exports to Oceania (up 47.2 percent), and US$6 million in exports to Africa (up 27.4 percent).

Meanwhile, car sales in the domestic market increased 10.7 percent year on year to 893,700 units in the first half of this year due to the base effect of the automotive semiconductor crisis in 2022. Of these, sales of domestically produced vehicles increased by 8.7 percent to 759,300 units, while sales of imported vehicles dropped by 3.1 percent year on year to 134,400 units.

Sales of eco-friendly vehicles in the Korean market totaled 264,200 units in the first half of this year, accounting for three out of every 10 new vehicles sold. Of these, hybrid models accounted for the largest share (66.9 percent) of the Korean eco-friendly car market with 176,990 units.