In August this year, South Korea's total car output amounted to 237,477 units, falling 50 percent compared to July and down 25.9 percent year on year, according to a report released by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA). The report says that the decrease was due to the partial strikes at major producers. On the other hand, country's car output in the first eight months of the year saw a year-on-year decrease of 1.4 percent, producing 2,973,038 units.
Sales of South Korean cars in the domestic market in August this year fell 21.9 percent to 96,648 units, affected by the concerns over the economic slowdown and by weakened consumer sentiment. In the first eight months of this year, sales of domestic production cars in South Korea fell by 6.1 percent year on year to 986,908 units. Meanwhile, sales of imported cars continued its growth pace in August, rising by 16 percent year on year to 10,576 units.
The association also announced that in August this year South Korean car exports fell by 31.6 percent year on year to 164,805 vehicles, as the European market contracted due to the financial crisis. South Korean car exports in the first eight months of the year rose by 4.1 percent compared to the same period of 2011, totaling 2,106,620.