Ministry of Industry, December 2020 and annual automobile industry trends… Domestic demand increased by 5.8% year-on-year
[에너지데일리 조남준 기자] In 2020, automobile production decreased by △11.2% and exports decreased by △21.4% (exports △13.0%), but domestic demand increased by +5.8%. In addition, domestic demand for eco-friendly cars last year increased 58.7% year-on-year to 227,000 units and exports increased 6.8% to 276,000 units. Both domestic and export sales reached record highs.
According to the December 2020 and annual automobile industry trends (provisional) announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 14th, last year automobile production was affected by △19.8% in the first half and exports of new cars in the second half due to sales contraction due to Corona 19 and problems in procurement of major parts. As a result, it produced 3.15 million units, a decrease of △2.2% and a decrease of △11.2% annually. Nevertheless, the country’s production ranking rose from 7th to 5th, showing the smallest decline compared to the world’s 10 largest producers except China.
Last year, the share of domestic eco-friendly car sales reached 12% of total car sales, exceeding 10% for the first time ever. In particular, domestic sales increased in all vehicle types, including hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and hydrogen vehicles.
Exports of eco-friendly cars reached a record record of 276,000 units (+6.8%), and the share of eco-friendly car exports recorded 19.1% of the total passenger car exports (14.7% of the total number of cars).
The proportion of exports by vehicle type in 2020 was 10.4% ($3.9 billion) for electric and hydrogen cars, 6.8% ($25.3 billion) for hybrids, and 1.9% ($700 million for PHEVs).
In particular, electric vehicles showed the largest growth rate at 60.1% and emerged as the flagship export vehicle.
The number of exports by vehicle type was 12,6889 hybrid vehicles (△15.8%), 121,825 electric vehicles (60.1%↑), 26730 plug-in hybrid vehicles (△15.0%), and 995 hydrogen vehicles (26.3%↑). The proportion of exports of eco-friendly vehicles versus electric vehicles was surveyed from 29.4% in 2019 to 44.1% (14.7%p↑) in 2020.
By model, Kona EV increased 43.6%, Niro EV 191.9%, Niro PHEV 25.8%, and Nexo 26.3%, driving strong exports.
In December of last year, domestic demand for eco-friendly cars increased 62.0% year-on-year to 25,691 units, and exports decreased by △ 16.3% to 24,49 units.
Domestic demand has increased for 11 consecutive months, and in particular, domestic hybrid cars (Tucson, Sorento, etc.) led the strong domestic sales.
In the case of electric vehicles, domestic brands increased 31.4% despite a decrease in overall production (△60.7%), but imported brands decreased by △56.8%, resulting in a decrease of △6% overall.
Exports of electric and hydrogen cars showed an increase (6.7%↑, 41.3%↑), but exports of 22,449 units decreased by △16.3% from the same month last year due to a decrease in hybrid and PHEV.
In particular, exports of electric vehicles increased for 41 consecutive months, emerging as a new export engine, and exports of Niro electric vehicles (4673 units, 114.2%↑) increased significantly by model.
Based on the expansion of electric vehicle exports, the share of eco-friendly vehicles in total automobile exports (based on amount) also increased from 16.3% in December 2019 to 16.4% (0.1%p↑) in December 2020.
In December 2020, the proportion of exports by vehicle type was 8.4% ($300 million) for electric and hydrogen cars, 6.3% ($2.3 billion) for hybrids, and 1.7% ($0.6 billion) for PHEVs.
Last year, automobile domestic sales increased 5.8% to 1.89 million units, which was the highest sales ever due to the government’s policies to revitalize domestic demand, such as lowering the opening tax, and the launch of various new cars in the industry.
In addition, when comparing domestic sales by country, major countries (US, Japan, etc.) showed a decrease, while Korea showed the only increase at 5.8%.
RV models accounted for more than half (52.3%) of the sales volume of passenger cars as demand for SUVs such as Palisade, Sorento, and Tucson, which are domestic cars, continued to increase.
Imports recorded 290,000 units of sales, an increase of 9.8% from the previous year due to the increase in sales of American, German, and Swedish brands.
Exports decreased by △33.9% in the first half and △8.1% in the second half, and the total number of exports decreased by △21.4% to 1.89 million units.
The export amount also decreased by △27.3% in the first half, but recovered to +1.5% in the second half, decreasing by △13.0% (37.43 billion dollars) in the year as a whole.
The number of exports by vehicle type showed a decrease overall, but the proportion of exports to SUVs expanded to 71.8% (7.9%p↑), driving high added value in automobile exports.
This year, the export unit price per 10,000 automobile exports increased by 10.4% from 180 million dollars to 200 million dollars.
Parts for parts recorded 18.67 billion dollars, a 17.2% decrease from the previous year due to contraction in global demand due to Corona 19, inventory accumulation due to plant shutdown in the first half, and decrease in exports to local factories in the US, EU, and Latin America.
In addition, the domestic automobile industry in December of last year was tentatively counted to record production △12.0%, domestic demand △6.0%, and export △14.6% (export △4.3%) compared to the same month last year.
It produced 4,658 units (1.6%↑) more than the average monthly output in 2020 (292,237 units), but produced 29,6895 units, a decrease of △12.0% from the same month last year.
It was analyzed that the decrease in production in December of last year was due to a partial strike by the Kia Motors union and the construction of a factory line to prepare for the launch of new cars (Hyundai Motor Ioniq 5, etc.).
Domestic demand sold 16,3980 units, a △6.0% decrease from the same month of the previous year, due to the reduction of year-end prepayment demand following the six-month extension of the opening tax cut (‘21.1~’21.6).
Domestic cars sold 13,1872 units, a △8.2% decrease from the same month last year due to continued robust sales of Hyundai-Kia’s sedans and SUVs, and overall production decline.
Imports of imported cars recorded the highest sales in 20 years with 32,108 units, up 4.3% from the same month last year due to the increase in sales of German, Swedish and Italian brands.
Export) Major countries (Europe, Middle East, etc.) As global automobile demand contracted due to the re-proliferation of Corona 19, it exported 17,4904 units, a decrease of △14.6% from the same month last year.
The amount of exports decreased relatively small (US$ 3.62 billion, △4.3%) due to the increase in the export portion of SUVs, electric vehicles and mid-sized passengers, which are high-value vehicles with high unit prices.
Exports of automobile parts in December 2020 recorded 2.15 billion dollars, an increase of 15.6% year-on-year due to the strong sales of finished cars in the North American market, recording an increase in exports for the second consecutive month following November 2020.
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