ANN/THE KOREA HERALD – South Korea’s vehicle export prices slipped for the first time in eight years in 2024, a decline attributed to a prolonged slump in electric vehicle sales.
South Korea exported 2.78 million units of cars worth USD64.1 billion last year, according to data by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association.
The average exporting price per unit totalled USD23,048, down USD221 from a year earlier.
This is the first on-year decrease since 2016, when the unit price stood at USD14,264. Over the past years, the unit price had shown constant growth, peaking at USD23,369 in 2023 on the back of rising demand for high-priced electric vehicle (EV).
The recent decline, however, is blamed on waning global demand for eco-friendly cars during the so-called EV chasm, a transitional phase before the widespread adoption of EVs.
South Korea’s exports of eco-friendly cars had been on a steady rise from USD4.21 billion in 2018 to USD23.48 billion in 2023, but dropped to USD22.43 billion last year.
In particular, overseas sales of EVs plunged 26.6 per cent on-year to 254,000.
“The rise in the unit price of vehicle exports in recent years has been largely influenced by rising demand for eco-friendly cars, mainly EVs,” an industry insider said.
“The EV Chasm, combined with production disruptions caused by heavy snowfall in November last year, led to a decline in EV exports.”
