SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's automotive export logged a double-digit growth last month due to solid demand for eco-friendly vehicles, government data showed Thursday.
Car shipment soared 21.7 percent from a year earlier to 6.07 billion U.S. dollars in January, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.
It marked the second-highest for January on robust demand for eco-friendly sedans, of which the shipment surged 48.5 percent to 2.56 billion dollars last month.
Auto export to the United States spiked 19.2 percent to 2.66 billion dollars, but auto shipment to Asia tumbled 30.1 percent to 325 million dollars.
The number of exported vehicles totaled 246,574 in January, up 23.4 percent from a year earlier. Auto parts shipment grew 3.9 percent to 1.63 billion dollars.
The number of vehicles manufactured in local factories jumped 24.1 percent to 360,500 last month.
The number of cars sold inside the country, including locally-made and imported vehicles, was 120,787 in January, up 14.0 percent compared to the same month of last year. ■