SEOUL, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's automotive export hit a record monthly high in July on solid demand for eco-friendly vehicles, government data showed Monday.
The country's car shipment soared 25.3 percent from a year earlier to 5.14 billion U.S. dollars in July, surpassing 5 billion dollars for the first time, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Export for eco-friendly vehicles spiked 50.6 percent to reach a fresh high of 1.47 billion dollars last month, keeping an upward trend for the 19th consecutive month.
The proportion of eco-friendly vehicle shipment to the total car export was 28.6 percent in July, up 6.4 percentage points from a year earlier.
Demand for locally-made vehicles gained in double digits from North America, the European Union and Asia.
The number of domestic cars exported was 223,633 in July, up 23.1 percent from a year earlier. The number topped 200,000 in 28 months since March 2020.
Automotive sales in the local market retreated 3.0 percent over the year to 143,293 units in July on weaker demand for imported vehicles.
The number of cars manufactured in local factories was 324,668 in July, up 9.1 percent from a year ago. ■