SEOUL, Oct. 18 (Yonhap) — The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy reported that South Korean car exports saw a 9.5% year-on-year jump in September, largely due to the demand for electric and hydrogen vehicles. The total value of exports was $5.23 billion, up from $4.78 billion in the same month of the prior year.
The growth trend has been persistent for the past 15 months, with exports during the first nine months of 2023 rising 35.8% year-on-year to $52 billion. North America was the primary destination for South Korean cars last month, with sales increasing 22.7% to $2.77 billion, while exports to the European Union rose 12.5% to $849 million and those to Asian nations grew 1.6% to $436 million. However, shipments to the Middle East dropped 15.3% to $350 million.
The surge was mainly attributed to the heightened demand for eco-friendly models, which increased 23.3% year-on-year to $1.74 billion in September. South Korea shipped 197,770 units of automobiles in September, a 1.3% year-on-year rise, with 54,000 of these being eco-friendly models, up 10.2% from the prior year. The industry ministry attributed the growth to rental firms taking advantage of tax credits under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Conversely, domestic production decreased 1.9% year-on-year in September to 301,799 units, while domestic sales also declined 4.7% year-on-year to 133,709 units, likely due to some EV buyers delaying their purchases in anticipation of potential increases in related subsidies.