-South Korea’s automotive production and export rose last month due to the completed construction of facilities in some of local carmakers and a global demand recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, government data showed Wednesday. The number of vehicles, produced in local factories, was 263,959 in February, up 1.2 percent from the same month of last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The construction of facilities in some carmakers, including Hyundai Motor and GM Korea, was completed last month, contributing to the higher car production.
The number of exported vehicles gained 5.1 percent from a year earlier to 167,682 in February amid the continued recovery in global demand from the pandemic downturn.
In terms of value, the automotive shipment expanded 9.1 percent to 3.84 billion U.S. dollars last month.
Export for environmentally-friendly vehicles surged 51.9 percent to 39,256 units, marking the highest February figure.
In the domestic market, the automotive sale fell 0.3 percent over the year to 122,929 units in February.
The sale of locally-made vehicles increased 2.3 percent to 103,097 units last month, but the sale of imported vehicles declined 12.1 percent to 19,832 units.
