In July this year, South Korea's total car output amounted to 355,627 units, falling 15.7 percent compared to June and down 9.2 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 coupled with reduced operating days. On the other hand, the growth rate of the country's car output slowed in the first seven months of the year, with only a year-on-year growth of 1.5 percent, producing 2,735,943 units.
Despite the introduction of new models in South Korea, sales of South Korean cars in the domestic market in July this year fell 4.6 percent to 122,086 units, affected by the impact of the financial crisis in the euro zone on the global economy and by reduced consumer confidence. In the first seven months of this year, sales of domestic production cars in South Korea fell by 5.8 percent year on year to 817,202 units.
The association also announced that in July this year South Korean car exports fell by 10.4 percent year on year to 238,824 vehicles, on account of the rising uncertainty over the global economy amid financial turbulence in the EU and supply shortages due to strikes at producers. South Korean car exports in the first seven months of the year rose by 7.3 percent compared to the same period of 2011, totaling 1,939,576.