Half Price
The gap between the prices of cars Korea exports and imports is not being narrowed at all. Under the circumstances, experts point out that Korean automakers need to work on vehicles of higher quality and price.
According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association and the Korea Customs Service, five Korean automakers – Hyundai, Kia, GM Korea, Renault Samsung and Ssangyong – exported 2,687,768 cars between January and November this year, and the unit price of these vehicles was approximately US$14,200. Meanwhile, the unit price of the cars imported during the same period amounted to US$30,700, although the absolute number was just 284,172.
This phenomenon has continued all the way since 2013, when imported cars began to become popular with Korean customers in earnest. This is mainly because Korean automakers lack attractive full-size cars, and the prices of their products are about half across all segments.
Most of the cars exported from Korea have an engine displacement of 1,500 to 2,000 cc, whereas the majority of those imported are of over 2,000 cc. Besides, the unit price of imported compact vehicles is US$22,094, higher than that of mid-size cars at US$21,832, which means the prices show little difference from segment to segment. In contrast, the unit prices of compact, mid-size and full-size cars exported from Korea are US$9,845, US$12,870 and US$23,944, respectively.