SEOUL, Sep 16 (ABC):South Korea’s automotive export logged a double-digit growth last month due to solid demand for eco-friendly vehicles, government data showed Friday. The country’s car shipment soared 35.9 percent over the year to 4.12 billion U.S. dollars in August, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The number of exported vehicles was 168,155 in August, up 29.1 percent from a year earlier. Export for eco-friendly vehicles spiked 45.7 percent to 1.22 billion dollars last month, keeping an upward trend for the 20th consecutive month. The proportion of eco-friendly vehicles shipment to the total car export was 29.6 percent in August. Demand for locally-made vehicles from North America surged 66.8 percent to 2.03 billion dollars last month, logging the highest August figure in the market.
Automotive sale in the local market added 1.0 percent from a year earlier to 131,638 units in August, marking the first rebound in 19 months on the back of higher demand for foreign luxury models. The number of cars manufactured in domestic factories was 284,361 in August, up 21.0 percent from a year earlier.