South Korea’s passenger car exports climb 41% to record in first quarter

[Photo by Han Joo-hyung]

South Korea’s exports of automobiles jumped 41 percent from a year ago to a record in the first quarter as supply of auto chips improved and demand for higher-end vehicles increased.

According to data released by the Korea Customs Service on Friday, outbound shipment of passenger cars in the January-March period reached $15.42 billion, a record for a single quarter.

The number of exported passenger cars increased by 31.1 percent to 680,000 units, with the export value of eco-friendly cars, including electric vehicles, soaring by 68.4 percent to a record $6.04 billion.

By country, exports increased from a year ago to the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K. Germany, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Shipment to Vietnam, Chile, and South Africa declined.

Eco-friendly vehicle exports to the U.S., Germany, Canada, France, Israel and Sweden increased.

The average export price of Korean passenger cars in the first quarter was $22,578 per unit, up 7.6 percent from a year earlier. Those or eco-friendly cars was also up by 8.5 percent to a record $31,590 per unit.

Import value of passenger cars in the first quarter totaled $3.7 billion, up by 24.6 percent from a year ago, and the number of imported passenger cars increased by 14.2 percent to 80,000 units. Import value of eco-friendly cars rose by 34.3 percent to $1.81 billion, accounting for 48.3 percent of the total value of passenger cars.

The average import price of passenger cars in the first quarter was $48,924 per unit, up 9.2 percent from the same period last year.