SEOUL, Jan 29 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea’s car export posted a double-digit fall last year, due to weak global demand, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, customs office data showed today.
Passenger car export declined 12.1 percent over the year to 34.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, according to Korea Customs Service.
Overall market demand reduced last year, but global demand rebounded in the second half.
Sedan shipment plummeted 10.1 percent in the first quarter and 40.6 percent in the second quarter, before rebounding 3.4 percent in the third quarter and 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter.
The number of exported sedans was 1.97 million in 2020, down 19.8 percent from the previous year.
Shipment of environmentally-friendly passenger vehicles hit a record high of 7.1 billion U.S. dollars, in 2020, up 19.2 percent from a year earlier.
Sedan exports to the United States, Canada, Britain and France increased last year, but those to Australia, Germany, Russia, Spain and Saudi Arabia declined in double figures.
Import of passenger vehicles gained 8.8 percent to 12.0 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. The number of imported sedans was 330,000 in 2020, up 4.6 percent from the previous year.– NNN-YONHAP
