À̹ÌÁö È®´ë [Graphics by Song Ji-yoon]
South Korea¡¯s auto exports and production fell for the third straight year in 2018 while domestic sales gained mostly thanks to foreign brands.
Overall auto production slipped 2.1 percent year over year to 4,029,000 units in 2018, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Friday. One of the major factors behind the decline was General Motors¡¯ closure of one of its four plants in Korea last year as part of restructuring efforts in its money-losing Korean unit.
Outbound shipment also fell 3.2 percent to 2,449,000 units due to flattening sales in the U.S.
Sales at home, however, gained 1.1 percent to 1,813,000 units thanks to growing appetite for foreign labels.
The number of imported vehicles sold in Korea last year totaled 281,000, up 12.0 percent on year. Despite BMW¡¯s fire scare, Volkswagen and Audi saw a huge jump in sales last year as they resumed operations after a two-year suspension over an emissions cheating scandal. Their combined sales surged to 27,840 units in 2018 from 962 in 2017.
Korean automakers sold 1,532,000 cars, down 0.7 percent from a year earlier. All car models except SUVs saw their sales retreat in the previous year.
Demand for clean-fuel cars like electric vehicles remained strong at home and abroad. Helped by generous government subsidies, domestic sales soared 26.3 percent to 123,601 units, with the sector now commanding a 6.8 percent share of Korea¡¯s total auto market. Exports also rose 10.1 percent, selling 195,361 units to occupy 8.0 percent of the country¡¯s total shipments.
By Moon Ji-woong and Kim Hyo-jin
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]