SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's automotive export grew for the fourth straight month due to solid demand from Europe and Asia, government data showed Monday.
Car shipment jumped 16.8 percent from a year earlier to 6.41 billion U.S. dollars in September, continuing to go up since June, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The consecutive growth was attributable to higher demand for eco-friendly vehicles as well as robust demand from Europe and Asia that offset lower U.S. demand, caused by the U.S. tariffs.
Auto export to the United States reduced 7.5 percent to 2.38 billion dollars, while those to the European Union (EU) and Asia spiked in double digits to 958 million dollars and 823 million dollars each.
Shipment of eco-friendly sedans soared 22.9 percent to 2.67 billion dollars in September compared with the same month of last year.
The number of exported vehicles was 228,153 in September, up 11.0 percent from a year earlier. Auto parts shipment climbed 6.0 percent to 1.92 billion dollars.
The number of vehicles manufactured in local factories rose 8.9 percent to 334,319 in September on a yearly basis.
The number of cars sold inside the country, including locally-made and imported vehicles, was 157,898 in September, up 20.8 percent from a year earlier. ■