The Korea Herald reported that the automobile sector has led South Korea's exports during the first half of 2012, offsetting worries over a sluggish performance amid the euro zone debt crisis.
According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, the nation's vehicle exports increased by 15.7% YoY in the first half over the same period last year, marking the highest growth among the overall industries.
The KAMA data showed that in addition, the ratio of vehicles to total exports climbed to 13.5% from 11.9% in the first half of 2011.
The automotive industry includes two Korean companies, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, and three others GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors and Ssangyong Motor that operate factories in Korea.
The association said that it is estimated that exports of vehicles and auto components came to about USD 25 billion and USD 12.1 billion for the first six months of 2012.
In particular, Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors are recording thriving performances in the North American market. Hyundai and Kia saw their February 2012 sales in the US market reach all time highs.
Hyundai Motor sold 51,151 units last month in the US, up by 18% YoY from 43,533 units a year earlier. It is a record high performance for the carmaker's February sales.
Sales of the Sonata and Avante, called the Elantra in the US, came to 17,425 and 13,820 units, respectively.
Kia Motors, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor, reported 37.3% growth with sales of 45,038 units in the world's biggest automobile market, compared to 32,806 units a year before.
The company's performance also marked a record high in terms of February 2012 sales.
The K5 sedan, dubbed the Optima in North America, took the lead in noteworthy sales. Kia sold 11,558 units of the midsize sedan. The year on year sales growth of the K5 came to 138.6%.
Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor's February 2012 sales at home and abroad came to 360,979 units, up by 28.3% MoM.
Its domestic sales climbed 8.6%. The Grandeur sedan was the best selling model, followed by the Avante and the Sonata. Its sales in overseas markets including exports surged by 32.5%.
Kia Motors' sales climbed 35.5% YoY in February 2012 due to solid demand for its vehicles in overseas markets. It sold 240,124 vehicles in June 2012 as compared with 177,276 units a year earlier. The figure also represents a 13.7% gain from 211,116 vehicles sold by the company in January 2012.
Source - The Korea Herald
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