South Korea's automobile production surged in February amid strong demand for eco-friendly and luxury vehicles both at home and abroad, government data showed Wednesday.

Automobile output rose 9.8 percent to 336,032 units last month from a year earlier, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Exports jumped 5.3 percent to 201,757 units in February from the same period last year.

The value of automobiles shipped abroad also climbed 9.6 percent to $3.28 billion in February from the previous year.

Domestic sales reached 136,833 units last month, up 7.6 percent from a year earlier.

The total breaks down to 120,182 South Korean-made vehicles, up 10.1 percent from a year earlier, and 16,651 foreign cars, down 7.3 percent from a year earlier.

The declining foreign car sales are attributed to the difficulties facing Audi and Volkswagen following an emissions scandal that led to a sales ban on 80 vehicle models here in recent months.

The value of auto parts shipped abroad rose 7.2 percent to $2.05 billion in February from the previous year helped by the rise in production at South Korean automobile plants in the United States and Europe, and the growing demand in the Middle East. (Yonhap)