The nation’s automobile exports dropped 8.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015, hit by slowing demand from China and Russia, government data showed on Tuesday.
Passenger cars await shipment at a South Korean port. (Yonhap)
According to the Korea Customs Service, passenger vehicles worth $10.7 billion were exported between October and December, down from the $11.7 billion in the same period in 2014.
The value of cars exported late last year is equivalent to 774,000 units, the custom service said, adding that the cars counted in numbers also fell 4.3 percent from the 808,000 in the last three months of 2014.
The office said the sharp drop was due mostly to weak demand from China and Russia.
Exports to China dived from $489 million to $302 million, a 38.3 percent decrease from the fourth quarter of 2014. Auto shipments to Russia also plunged 39.6 percent from $364 million to $220 million, it said.
The custom office also attributed falling oil prices as well as other raw materials to slumping demand on passenger cars in emerging and oil-exporting countries.
In contrast, the value of cars imported to South Korea rose 18.2 percent from a year earlier. About 87,000 units were imported to reflect a 14.2 percent increase from 76,000 last year.
(
khnews@heraldcorp.com)
