Korea's auto exports hit new highs in the first nine months of this year, reaching US$52.1 billion on the back of record-high eco-friendly car exports to North America and the EU.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Wednesday that in the January to September period, some $18 billion worth of green automobiles were exported, exceeding the total for last year, which amounted to $16.1 billion.
This year's January-September figure surpassed the $38.4 billion recorded for the same period last year, so total exports for the whole year are likely to pass last year's $54.1 billion.
Car production in September dipped slightly on-year due to partial strikes within the industry but has hovered above 300,000 cars for 13 consecutive months.
The ministry expects total production for the whole year to hit at least 4 million cars if the trend continues, a figure not seen since 2018.
On the domestic front, sales of new cars decreased 4.7 percent on-year to 133,709 in September. Sales of eco-friendly cars increased 2.3 percent to 42,621, but EV sales dropped 34 percent.
The ministry said EV sales dropped because the government's plan to expand subsidies led people to defer their purchases.