▲Hyundai Motor Ulsan Plant (Photo provided by Hyundai Motor Company)
Korea recaptured the fifth place in the world’s automobile producers last year after five years. It is interpreted as a result of the influence that the government and industry have effectively responded to the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) and the reorganization of the automobile industry structure mainly for high added value.
According to the report on the “Status of the Top 10 Automobile Producers in 2020” released by the Korea Automobile Industry Association (KAMA) on the 8th, Korea, which produced 3.15 million vehicles last year, has been able to save against major countries despite the Corona 19 incident, and has given it to India since 2016. I got back the 5th place.
Last year, the top 10 automakers were △1st China △2nd America △3rd Japan △4th Germany △5th Korea △6th India △7th Mexico △8th Spain △9th Brazil △10th Russia.
All of the first to fourth-largest producers had reduced production, but the rankings remained unchanged. In China, production decreased by 2% compared to the previous year, and in the United States and Japan, respectively, by 19% and 16%.
There was a lot of fluctuations in the rankings of producing countries below the fifth place. Korea, which remained at the 7th place in 2019, saw its production decline by 11.2%, but the decline was relatively small, rising two places last year.
In India and Mexico, production declined by 24.9% and 21.2%, respectively, and the rankings fell by one step. Russia, ranked 10th, fell only 15.7% and entered the top 10 for the first time since 2000. France, which finished 10th in 2019, was pushed back to 13th.
The share of each country in world production has also changed according to the gap in the decline by the top 10 producing countries. China’s market share increased by 4.4%p and Korea’s by 0.2%p. In particular, China’s market share has increased significantly from 27.8% in 2019 to 32.3% in 2020.
▲ GM Korea is producing trail blazers at Bupyeong 1 plant. (Photo provided by GM Korea)
Korea was sluggish with a 21.4% decrease in exports due to the stagnation of demand caused by Corona 19, but as domestic sales of domestic cars increased by 4.7% due to strong domestic demand, the decrease in domestic production was 11.2%, which is lower than the global production decrease rate (15.5%).
KAMA analyzed that Korea’s recapture of fifth place was mainly due to production disruptions in India and Mexico, but the fact that the structure of the automobile industry is rapidly changing mainly due to high added value such as SUVs, luxury cars, and electric power vehicles, as well as labor-management cooperation with Hyundai Motors. .
KAMA Chairman Chung Man-ki said, “It is a great achievement that Korea regains the 5th place in the ranking of producers amidst difficulties, but considering China’s advances, it is necessary to further strengthen innovation efforts such as smartization, high-end and electrification.” “We must continue to expand our policies to support competitiveness such as drastic regulatory reform and R&D, and accumulate experience in cooperation based on the perception that shareholders, management, and workers are one team.”
“In particular, the labor-management cooperation, such as Hyundai Motor’s recent conclusion of no dispute for the second consecutive year, has helped not only to overcome the Corona 19 crisis, but also to improve competitiveness and secure labor stability.” “By accumulating experience in future cooperation, labor-management cooperation He added, “We need to switch to production innovation rather than conflict resolution.”