SEOUL, Jun 14 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea’s automotive export logged a double-digit growth last month, thanks to a recovery in global demand from the COVID-19 pandemic shock, a government report showed today.
The number of locally-made vehicles exported in May was 150,894, up 57.5 percent compared to the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
In terms of value, the automotive shipment almost doubled to 3.49 billion U.S. dollars in May, on a yearly basis.
It was attributable to strong demand for environmentally-friendly models, premium brands and sport utility vehicles (SUV), amid the global demand recovery from the pandemic shock.
The number of vehicles produced in local factories was 256,272 in May, up 10.9 percent from a year earlier. The car production kept rising for the second consecutive month.
The automotive sale in the domestic market declined 10.1 percent over the year to 151,699 units in May.
The domestic sale of environmentally-friendly vehicles jumped 56.5 percent to 26,983 units, while the corresponding figure for export expanded 36.5 percent to 27,607 units.– NNN-YONHAP
