S. Korea's auto exports shrink for 2nd straight month in August

South Korea's automobile exports shrank for the second month in a row in August due to unfavorable exchange rates and economic slowdown in emerging markets, the government said Sunday.

In August, outbound shipments of automobiles contracted 0.7 percent on-year to 181,915 units, with the total value of cars exported dropping 9.1 percent to US$2.7 billion, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.

Compared to July, when carmakers such as Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp. and GM Korea Co. exported 258,781 units, last month's total plunged 29.6 percent.

"Unfavorable exchange rates that affected price competitiveness of South Korean cars, and problems in emerging markets such as Russia and Latin America affected overseas sales," the ministry said. Sales to North America rose last month.

It said despite the overall drop, Hyundai's exports, helped by strong demand for its brand new Tucson compact CUV, along with the steady popularity of its Accent and Elantra sedans shot up 17.1 percent on-year.

On the other hand, overseas sales of its corporate cousin Kia dipped 0.9 percent, as the carmaker was affected by weak consumer demand in emerging markets.

Exports by GM Korea, which makes its cars under the Chevrolet badge, dropped 28.2 percent, while numbers for Ssangyong Motor Co. and Renault Samsung Motors Co. nosedived 27.7 percent and 33.7 percent, respectively.

 Despite weak exports, the ministry's data showed domestic sales jumping 13.2 percent on-year last month, with output actually rising 4.3 percent.

Total output stood at 284,803 units, with sales hitting 139,327 vehicles.

"Domestic demand for new cars like the K5 and Spark all helped push up sales and production," the ministry said.

For the first eight months of 2015, car production dipped 0.4 percent on-year to 3,011,417 units, with exports backtracking 3 percent to 1,984,857 units. Domestic sales, on the other hand, rose 7.2 percent to 1,153,425 units.

Domestic sales of imported vehicles again posted double-digit growth by jumping 24.7 percent on-year to 20,546 units in the one month period, latest data showed. This number, however, represents an 11 percent drop from July, and the second month in a row that foreign car sales fell on-month. (Yonhap)