South Korea's auto exports set a record high again after two months. In addition, the export value of complete vehicles and parts is higher than that of semiconductor exports, which is the first time in more than six years since December 2016.

Trade and Energy of Korea on the 21st, the export value of Korean automobiles in February this year increased by 47.1% compared with the same month last year, reaching 5.6 billion U.S. dollars, a record high.

Exports of complete vehicles and parts (US$2.02 billion) totaled US$7.62 billion in February. Automobiles accounted for 15.2% of South Korea's monthly exports ($50.1 billion), surpassing semiconductors ($5.96 billion) for the last two consecutive months. This is the first time since December 2016 that the automobile has led the semiconductor industry again after more than six years.

Last month, while the overall car export volume increased, the export of eco-friendly cars such as electric cars and hybrid cars with high unit prices also increased, breaking the record in December last year (5.42 billion U.S. dollars) for the first time in two months. . In terms of volume, it increased by 34.8% from the same month last year to 223,000 vehicles, the highest value in 45 months since May 2019 (225,000 vehicles).

In terms of brands, Hyundai Motor and Kia grew by 26.6% and 57.9% respectively, while South Korea's GM and Ssangyong Motors increased by 22.6% and 43.9% respectively, both showing double-digit growth rates. Due to the sluggish export of the main model XM3, Renault Korea decreased by 36.7% from the same month last year.

Last month, the export value of environmentally friendly vehicles increased by 83.4% year-on-year to US$2.02 billion, and the export volume increased by 61.6% year-on-year to 63,000 vehicles, both hitting monthly record highs.

The export value of environmentally friendly vehicles has been increasing for six consecutive months since August last year. In particular, it surpassed the $2 billion mark for the first time last month, accounting for 36.1 percent of total auto exports.

In terms of export volume, the number of environmentally friendly models increased compared with the same month last year, exceeding 60,000 for the first time in history. The export of hybrid vehicles was 26,033, an increase of 48.8% over the same month last year, and the export of electric vehicles was 3,843, an increase of 76.6%. Plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for 5945 (51.0%), and hydrogen fuel vehicles accounted for 40 (1900.0%).

Affected by the difficult supply and demand of automotive semiconductors last month, automobile production increased by 30.2% from the same month last year to 344,000 units.

Production of Hyundai Motor and Kia's new Azun, Kona, Niro and workhorse SUVs grew overall, up 27.8 percent and 38.4 percent, respectively, from last year. Korea's GM and SsangYong Motors officially started production of their new Trax and Torres, increasing by 19.0% and 31.4%, respectively, while Renault Korea also benefited from increased QM6 production, increasing by 3.7%.

With the increase in production, domestic auto sales last month increased by 19.6% from the same month last year, reaching 147,000 units. Among them, the number of environmentally friendly vehicles increased by 32.1%, reaching 45,000.

The demand for hybrid vehicles was driven by large sedans such as the Yazun and K8, and SUV models such as the Tucson, Shengda, and Sebastian. The sales volume was 25,000 units, an increase of 35.3%. 18,000 vehicles, an increase of 35.6%. So far, the three indicators of automobile production, domestic demand and export have all increased for seven consecutive months.