Seoul: South Korea's exports of passenger cars experienced a decline for the first time in over two years during the third quarter of 2024, primarily due to weak demand for eco-friendly vehicles, notably in the European market. According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korean carmakers exported $13.96 billion worth of passenger cars between July and September, reflecting a 4.7 percent decrease from the same period the previous year, as reported by the Korea Customs Service. This marked the first year-on-year decline since the first quarter of 2022, when exports fell by 0.6 percent. In terms of volume, the export of South Korean vehicles fell by 3 percent year-on-year, totaling 590,000 units. Meanwhile, imports saw a 12.6 percent increase, amounting to $3.04 billion in the third quarter, marking the first year-on-year rise since the last quarter of 2023. The reduction in exports was attributed to a 1.27 percent year-on-year decrease in overseas sales of eco-friendly cars, totaling $5.42 billion in the third qu arter. Specifically, the demand for electric cars plummeted by 44.4 percent to $2 billion, while sales of hybrid vehicles reached a record high of $3.01 billion. By destination, there was a 1.2 percent increase in car exports to the United States in terms of value during the July-September period. Exports to Canada and Saudi Arabia also rose by 30.2 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively. However, demand from Australia fell by 7.4 percent, while exports to Britain and France dropped by 8.3 percent and 27.5 percent, respectively. The average price of cars exported during the third quarter decreased by 1.7 percent year-on-year to $23,562. In contrast, the average price of imports declined by 10.7 percent year-on-year to $40,711, according to the data.