Chip Crisis, South Korean Car Exports In March Drop 7.7 Percent

JAKARTA - South Korea's (South) car exports fell 7.7 percent in March, mainly due to the continuing shortage of automotive chips and disruptions in the supply of auto parts in China amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Quoted from Yonhap on Friday, car shipments out of South Korea totaled 179,630 units last month, compared with 194,562 units a year earlier, according to data from the country's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

In terms of value, car exports fell 9.7 percent on year to $3.97 billion last month.

This is the first time since October last year that car exports have decreased on an annual basis.

This was due to a decline in total vehicle production due to tight global supply of automotive chips and delays in the distribution of other auto parts in China amid the worsening virus situation, according to the ministry.

Domestic car production fell 9.5 percent on year to 302,161 units last month.

The cessation of vehicle deliveries to Russia due to the Ukraine crisis also affected exports. About 4.5 percent of South Korea's total car exports will be shipped to Russia in 2021.

Despite the overall decline, overseas shipments of eco-friendly vehicles jumped 45.5 percent to 41,320 units in March. In terms of value, sales of green cars jumped 43.1 percent to $1.17 billion.

Exports of auto parts also edged up 0.03 percent this year to $2.18 billion last month despite a shortage of auto chips.

Domestically, vehicle sales fell 19.1 percent from a year earlier to 138,647 units in March.

Sales of locally made cars fell 21 percent on year to 111,065 units, and imported cars fell 10.5 percent to 27,582 units, marking the seventh straight month of decline in a year, according to the data.

Eco-friendly cars, however, are enjoying popularity.

A total of 38,784 green cars were sold in the domestic market last month, up 28.6 percent on the year to hit a monthly high, the data showed.