According to Yonhap News,

(SEOUL = Yonhap News) Korea’s exports of auto parts reached a record high of USD 26 billion last year. The auto parts industry has set new records every year since 2009 and become one of the country’s leading export industries along with the auto industry.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE) and Korea International Trade Association on February 3, the country’s outbound shipments of auto parts reached USD 26.085 billion in 2013, up by six percent from USD 24.61 billion a year earlier.

Exports of car parts in 2013 were equivalent to the combined imports of raw materials, including coal, iron ore and chemical products, during the same period.

The growth rate of auto parts exports was shown to be more than three times higher than the country’s overall export growth rate of 2.2 percent. It also surpassed the growth rate of auto exports, which inched up about 3.1 percent, to USD 52.77 billion, in 2013.

The industry’s trade surplus passed the USD 20 billion mark for the first time, as imports of auto parts were decreased by 0.6 percent to USD 4.888 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of USD 21.197 billion.

Auto parts were also ranked 7th among the country’s top 10 export items.

Korea’s auto parts exports were only USD 11 million in 1977 but have grown 2,370-fold in less than 40 years.

Looking at export volume by country, exports to the United States rose by 9.2 percent, to USD 6.16 billion, compared to last year, making it the largest importer of Korean products. Exports to China and Brazil rose dramatically – by 25 and 34.8 percent, to USD 5.57 billion and 1.5 billion, respectively. Exports to Russia and India, however, were USD 1.63 billion and USD 1.25 billion, down by 0.4 and 21.3 percent.

It is notable that Korea recorded a more than 30 percent increase in exports to China and Brazil, which became the largest automobile markets in the world.

Korean auto parts have also proved more than satisfactory in terms of product quality by posting a 22 percent increase in exports to Germany, where large automakers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen dominate the market.

While the weak yen phenomenon seriously affected exports of major items to Japan, auto parts exports were able to record a moderate growth rate of 2.8 percent, to USD 800 million.

Constant demand for Korean auto parts by top auto-manufacturing countries including the United States, Germany and Japan indicate that the country’s auto parts are internationally recognized for their quality.

Another analysis shows that the dramatic improvement in the brand images of domestic auto manufacturers, including Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, was considered a positive factor for the increase in auto parts exports.

“The auto parts industry never had a strong presence during the 1990s, but it achieved very rapid growth in the 21st century thanks to the qualitative development of the country’s auto industry,” said a MOTIE official. “The ministry will actively provide administrative aids to build a supportive relationship between the fully built unit industry and the auto parts industry.”