In June this year, South Korea's total car output amounted to 421,661 units, down by 3.6 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 lower sales both at home and abroad. On the other hand, the country's auto production during the first half of the current year climbed 3.4 percent year on year to 2,380,782 units.
Although domestic demand in June was the highest of any month to date this year on the back of the release of new models, it diminished 3.7 percent compared to June 2011 to 124,034 units affected by the unstable European economy coupled with strong household debt. In the first half of this year, sales of domestic cars in South Korea fell by six percent year on year to 695,114 units.
The association also announced that in June this year South Korean car exports fell by 1.4 percent year on year to 300,114 vehicles, on account of increased global uncertainty due to the euro zone financial crisis. South Korean car exports in the first half of the year rose by 10.4 percent compared to the same period of 2011, totaling 1,700,364.