Auto Exports Reach Record High for August

Korea's auto exports last month were the highest ever for the month of August led by strong demand for eco-friendly cars.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea's car exports came to a total of US$5.3 billion last month, a 29 percent jump on-year.

Korea has been seeing increases in the double digits every month since July 2022. Thanks to healthy exports, Korea produced more than 300,000 vehicles in August for the first time in a decade, despite the fact that auto companies usually shut down factories for about a week in the summer.

Strong exports were mainly due to high demand for electric and hybrid vehicles, which made up almost one-third of the total. Exports of eco-friendly cars increased 47.8 percent on-year in money terms to $1.8 billion, or 29.4 percent to 53,383 cars.

Sales of environmentally friendly vehicles to the U.S. increased 153 percent on-year to 14,000 cars despite the protectionist Inflation Reduction Act.

Domestic sales of eco-friendly vehicles also soared 11.9 percent on-year, with hybrid cars up 52.6 percent.