According to South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy article published on October 14, 2022, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that automobile production, domestic sales and exports all posted double-digit growths of 34.1 percent, 23.1 percent and 27.5 percent, respectively.
The growth is attributable to improved automobile semiconductor supply situation, higher number of operating days in comparison, and continued overseas demand for domestic cars.
Automobile production in September rose 34.1 percent to 307,721 units, growing for five consecutive months. Three major midsized carmakers’ production rate particularly exploded by 84.3 percent, which was due to overseas SUV and pickup market demand and new model (Torres) release.
Domestic sales rose for both Korean and foreign brands by double digits, overall amounting to 140,242 units. Top five bestsellers were all Korean cars, and a new car called Torres ranked second in just three months of its release. Korean cars’ domestic sales increased 23.7 percent to 112,918 units, while foreign models saw sales gain 20.4 percent to 27,324 units.
Meanwhile, sales of eco-friendly vehicles in Korea advanced 36.7 percent to 41,585 units. This accounted for 29.7 percent of total domestic sales, the highest on record.
Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) shot up 14.1 percent to 19,176 units, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) dropped 61.8 percent to 841 units, electric vehicles (EVs) jumped 95.4 percent to 20,485 units, and fuel-cell hybrid vehicles (FCEVs) hiked 15.3 percent to 1,083 units.
Automobile exports in September recorded 192,863 units and USD 4.8 billion, up 27.5 percent and 34.7 percent, respectively. This is mainly attributable to steady demand from overseas consumers and increased production volume.
Exports of green cars advanced by a robust 39.1 percent and 35.1 percent in units and amount each, reaching 48,604 units and $1.4 billion, respectively. HEVs (up 54.7 percent to 28,118 units), EVs (up 27.9 percent to 17,900 units) expanded in outbound shipments, while PHEVs (down 6.2 percent to 2,571 units) and FCEVs (down 25.0 percent to 15 units) dropped.
Total amount of green car exports surpassed $1 billion for the 13th consecutive month, taking up 29.4 percent of Korea’s entire automobile exports. U.S. consumers’ demand for EVs, FCEVs and PHEVs skyrocketed by 413.4 percent to $0.2 billion, contributing to eco-friendly car exports.
By destination, outbound shipments to North America (up 70.1 percent), GCC (up 32.3 percent), Latin America (up 10.7 percent), Oceania (up 20.8 percent) and Asia (up 95.4 percent) climbed, whereas those to the EU (down 4.4 percent) and Africa (down 14.0 percent) slid.
Korea’s auto parts shipped overseas grew 8.7 percent to $2.0 billion, driven by increased overseas production of domestic brands.
