Invest KOREA

According to Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea,

South Korea returned to global No. 5 last year in terms of auto output for the first time in five years after car manufacturing factories in the country managed to avoid lengthy shutdowns, while auto factories in other major auto markets suffered repeated production disruptions under the once-in-a-century virus pandemic, data showed.

According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) on Monday, automobile output from Korea totaled 3,506,848 units in 2020, down 11.2 percent from the previous year. Despite the fall in production, the country’s overall auto output ranking moved up two notches from last year to world’s fifth largest because majority auto makers in other countries suffered bigger losses in car production during the pandemic.

It was the first time for Korea ranked No. 5 in global auto output since 2016 when it first lost it to India.

China ranked No. 1 with a 2 percent on-year fall in output last year, followed by the United States (-19 percent), Japan (-16.7 percent), and Germany (-24.7 percent).

India and Mexico moved down one notch to the sixth and seventh each after seeing their output lost 24.9 percent and 21.2 percent, respectively, on year.

Over the same period, global shipments fell 15.5 percent due to factory shutdowns and reduced orders from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Korea could return to global No. 5 after India and Mexico suffered severe production disruptions,” said a KAMA official, adding that cooperative relationship between the management and union of auto companies in the country like Hyundai Motor Group and a shift in focus to high value-added vehicles such as sport utility vehicles, premium cars and electrified cars also helped boost Korean auto production.​



By Seo Dong-cheol and Lee Ha-yeon

Copyrights Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea. All Rights Reserved.

Source: Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea (Feb 9, 2021)