SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's automotive exports fell last month, weighed down by weak demand from Asia and the Middle East, industry ministry data showed Monday.
The outbound car shipment dipped 5.5 percent from a year earlier to 6.05 billion U.S. dollars in September, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.
Shipments to core markets expanded, with North America rising 9.2 percent to 3.07 billion dollars and the European Union (EU) gaining 15.3 percent to 1.11 billion dollars.
They were dragged down by a 60 percent plunge in Asia to 329 million dollars and a 7.1 percent reduction in the Middle East to 354 million dollars.
Despite the overall downturn, eco-friendly vehicles showed relative resilience, with their exports growing 5.9 percent to 2.89 billion dollars.
The eco-friendly vehicles included electric vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
The number of exported vehicles totaled 237,443 in September, up 4.1 percent from the same month last year. Auto parts shipments fell 7.2 percent to 1.77 billion dollars.
The number of vehicles manufactured in local factories increased 3.7 percent to 346,618 last month.
It was boosted by local carmakers ramping up operations to make up for earlier production losses after concluding annual wage negotiations.
The number of cars sold inside the country, including locally-made and imported vehicles, was 135,396 in September, down 14.3 percent from a year earlier.
The slump was attributed to fewer working days as the Chuseok holiday, the South Korean version of Thanksgiving Day, shifted from October last year to September this year. ■
