South Korean car exports fall slightly

For the second consecutive year, exports of new cars from South Korea have fallen slightly according to the country’s Industry Ministry. Data produced by the government indicated that exports fell about 0.9 of a percent to just over three million units for the past year, although the actual value increased by about 0.6%.

The total value of exports hit an all-time high of US$48.9 billion mostly due to the changing mix of vehicles sent overseas. South Korea these days has a growing reputation for producing good quality SUV’s and luxury sedans, and exports of these grew by 9.2% whilst smaller cars at the budget end of the spectrum decreased by 13.7%. One of the worst hit was GM’s Chevrolet, which ceased operations in Western Europe this year, a factor that no doubt hurt the overall totals.

Domestic sales of new cars in South Korea saw a modest increase of 110,000 units at 1.65 million for the year, but this is at least in positive territory. Overall production remained largely unchanged at 4.53 million units, down from its 2012 peak of 4.65 million units.

image: wsj.com