SEOUL, Dec 14 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea’s automotive export posted a double-digit fall last month, as the COVID-19 resurgence weakened demand from Europe and the Middle East, a government report showed today.
The number of locally-made cars shipped overseas was 190,657 in Nov, down 10.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
It was attributable to the COVID-19 resurgence across the world, that curtailed demand, especially from Europe and the Middle East.
In terms of value, the automotive shipment rose 2.1 percent to 3.99 billion U.S. dollars, owing to robust demand for high-priced sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and large-sized sedans.
The number of domestic vehicle sales expanded 5.8 percent over the year to 171,228 in Nov, due to demand for newly launched models.
The number of vehicles produced in local factories was 324,472 in Nov, down 6.3 percent from a year earlier. It was due to the labour-management conflict.
The domestic sale of environmentally-friendly vehicles more than doubled to 28,218 units in Nov, while the export of those vehicles shrank 9.7 percent to 25,760.
Auto parts export increased 6.5 percent to 1.89 billion U.S. dollars, on demand from the North American market.– NNN-YONHAP
