Auto Exports and Domestic Sales Fall in September, While Tesla Model Y Tops Domestic Market

While South Korea's automobile exports and domestic sales declined last month, eco-friendly vehicles maintained a solid upward trend.

According to the "September Automobile Industry Trends" released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on October 19, car exports fell 5.5 percent year-on-year to 6.05 billion dollars.

Exports to key markets such as North America (3.07 billion dollars) and the European Union (1.11 billion dollars) increased by 9.2 percent and 15.3 percent, respectively, but shipments to Asia (330 million dollars) and the Middle East (350 million dollars) plummeted by 60.0 percent and 7.1 percent.

The ministry attributed the decline to logistics disruptions caused by the prolonged conflict in the Middle East and a drop in used car exports due to tightened regulations in major countries.

Domestic sales in September dropped 14.3 percent to 135,000 units.

The ministry explained that this reflected the Chuseok holiday being pulled forward to September, pent-up demand for new vehicle releases, and a slowdown in electric vehicle sales due to the exhaustion of subsidies.

However, September car production increased 3.7 percent from the same month last year to 347,000 units.

This was interpreted as the result of major automakers reaching wage agreements and a base effect from strikes at certain companies last year.

Amidst these trends, eco-friendly vehicles such as electric and hybrid cars continued to make strong advances.

Eco-friendly vehicle exports rose 5.9 percent to 2.89 billion dollars in September, accounting for about 48 percent of total automobile exports.

The number of eco-friendly vehicle exports increased 9.2 percent to 98,803 units, led by hybrids (66,516 units), which accounted for roughly 67 percent of the shipments.

Domestic sales of eco-friendly vehicles stood at 79,665 units, maintaining a high share of approximately 59 percent of total domestic sales.

While hybrid sales decreased 11.1 percent to 46,229 units, electric vehicle sales increased 10.4 percent to 31,768 units.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles suffered a sharp decline of 72.4 percent, selling only 365 units.

Among passenger car models, Tesla's flagship electric vehicle, the Model Y, retained the top spot in domestic sales last month with 11,421 units sold.

It was followed by the Grandeur (8,898 units), Avante (7,305 units), Sorento (6,957 units), and Sportage (5,497 units).

Notably, cumulative sales of the Model Y reached 73,123 units from January to September this year, narrowing the gap with the top-ranking Sorento (74,933 units) and raising expectations that it could claim the number one spot in annual sales.

Looking at domestic sales by automaker in September, Tesla's sales surged 36.4 percent year-on-year to 12,372 units, placing it third behind Hyundai (49,022 units) and Kia (45,963 units).

China's BYD ranked sixth as its sales jumped 156.3 percent to 2,614 units.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.