Seoul: South Korea's auto exports decreased more than 5 percent from a year earlier in April, amid a sharp decrease in shipments to the Middle East due to a geopolitical crisis there, government data showed Wednesday. But with higher oil prices caused by the Mideast crisis, domestic sales of electric vehicles increased sharply.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the combined value of automobile exports came to US$6.17 billion last month, down 5.5 percent from the same month last year, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. Outbound shipments to North America, Latin America, and Oceania went up by 2.4 percent, 23.7 percent, and 20.1 percent on-year, respectively, but exports to the Middle East plunged 38.7 percent amid the ongoing war between the United States and Iran. Exports to the European Union also slid 13.1 percent, while shipments to Asia plunged 31.7 percent.
Eco-friendly vehicles accounted for nearly 60 percent of domestic car sales, or 91,250 units, marking a 31 percent increase from a year earlier. In detail, domestic EV sales surged 139.7 percent to 38,927 units, while sales of hybrid cars dipped 1.9 percent to 50,872 units. A ministry official noted that the demand for EVs sharply increased due to higher oil prices caused by the war in the Middle East and the introduction of a vehicle rotation system.
On the back of EV popularity, sales of U.S. EV giant Tesla skyrocketed 811.5 percent on-year to 13,190 units in April. Sales of Chinese EV maker BYD also shot up 272.6 percent to 2,023 units.
Data also showed that domestic automobile production contracted 6.1 percent on-year to 362,000 units due to supply chain disruptions of some auto parts and consumers waiting for the launch of new and facelifted models of major vehicle lineups. Production at GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., KG Mobility Corp., and Kia Corp. gained 15.4 percent, 8.6 percent, and 0.5 percent, respectively. However, production at Hyundai Motor Co. dipped 16.2 percent, while Renault Korea saw its production decline 32.3 percent. The ministry stated that production disruptions caused by supply chain issues are expected to normalize starting in June.