South Korea Auto Exports Down 5.5% in April Amid Middle East Crisis

SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's auto exports decreased more than 5 percent from a year earlier in April, amid a sharp decrease in shipments to the Middle East due to a geopolitical crisis there, government data showed Wednesday.

The combined value of automobile exports came to US$6.17 billion last month, down 5.5 percent from the same month last year, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.

Outbound shipments to North America, Latin America and Oceania went up by 2.4 percent, 23.7 percent and 20.1 percent on-year, respectively, but exports to the Middle East plunged 38.7 percent amid the ongoing war between the United States and Iran.

Exports to the European Union also slid 13.1 percent, while shipments to Asia plunged 31.7 percent.

By type, exports of eco-friendly vehicles rose 13.5 percent to $2.52 billion in April, led by a 139.7 percent surge in electric vehicle sales and a 135.8 percent jump for hybrid cars.

Domestically, 152,000 vehicles were sold last month, up a modest 0.7 percent.

Data also showed that domestic automobile production contracted 6.1 percent on-year to 362,000 units due to supply chain disruptions of some auto parts and consumers waiting for the launch of new and facelifted models of major vehicle lineups.

Production at GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., KG Mobility Corp. and Kia Corp. gained 15.4 percent, 8.6 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

But production at Hyundai Motor Co. dipped 16.2 percent, while Renault Korea saw its production decline 32.3 percent.

The ministry said production disruptions caused by supply chain issues are expected to normalize starting in June.