South Korea's 2011 auto imports exceeded 100,000 for the first time, exporting 3.15 million vehicles

Recently, the Korean Automobile Industry Association released data on the country’s auto production, sales and imports in 2011. Last year, South Korea’s auto imports, exports and sales all reached record highs, but sales of its domestic passenger vehicles (including MPVs) fell slightly year-on-year.

Import volume exceeds 100,000 for the first time On February 3, 2012, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) released Korean auto import data for 2011. A total of 105,037 new car imports were registered in the year, an increase of 16% from the year-ago period in 2010. However, the import volume in December was 7,879 units, which was a decrease of 14.6% from the previous month in November.

Among all imported vehicles, luxury brands dominated, and BMW and Mercedes, in particular, were ranked first and second respectively. The number of cars imported by each brand and its proportion are as follows:

23,293 BMWs (22.18%); 19,534 Mercedes-Benz (18.60%); 12,436 Volkswagen (11.84%); Audi 10,345 (9.85%); Toyota 5,020 (4.78%); Mini 4,282 (4.08%); Ford 4,184 (3.98%); Lexus 4,111 (3.91%); Nissan 3,802 (3.62%); Chrysler 3,316 (3.16%); Honda 3,153 (3.00%); Peugeot 2,636 (2.51%); Infiniti 2,152 (2.05%); Volvo 1,480 (1.41%); Land Rover 1,383 (1.32%); Porsche 1,301 (1.24%); Jaguar 1,016 (0.97%); Cadillac 752 (0.72%); Subaru 664 (0.63%); Bentley 102 (0.10%); Mitsubishi 34 (0.03%); Rolls-Royce 27 (0.03%); Maybach 8 (0.01%); Citroen 6 (0.01%).

The top three best-selling models were Mercedes-Benz E300, 7,019; BMW 520d, 6,211; and BMW 528,5,940.

According to the engine displacement class, the number of vehicles with a displacement below 2000cc was 44,334, which accounted for 42.2% of the total imports; from 2000 to 3000cc, 34,291 units, which accounted for 32.6% of the total import volume; 393 vehicles accounted for 20.4% of total imports; over 4000cc accounted for 5,019 vehicles, accounting for 4.7% of total imports.

According to the division, the European brand was 77,849 units, which accounted for 74.1%; the Japanese brand was 18,936 units, accounting for 18.0%; the US department brand was 8,252 units, occupying 7.9%.

According to data released by the Korean Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA), Korean domestic car manufacturers’ exports and domestic sales and production figures are overseas in 2011, including domestic auto companies Hyundai, Kia, Renault Samsung, South Korea GM, and Ssangyong Motor. The sales volume in the local market has improved.

The total output of Korean domestic vehicle companies in 2011 was 4,657,094 units, which was compared to 4,271,741 units in 2010, an increase of 9.0% year-on-year. Of these, 4,221,617 were passenger cars, which represented a year-on-year increase of 9.2% from 3,866,206 units in 2010; passenger cars increased by 5.7% from 137,521 units to 145,300 units; and trucks from 254,689 units year-on-year. It increased by 8.4% to 276,156 units; SPV models increased by 5.2% from 14,325 units to 14,021 units.

Although sales volume in the Korean domestic market showed a declining trend in the second half of the year, it still maintained a total annual growth, but sales of passenger cars dropped slightly. The total domestic sales volume of Korean domestic vehicle companies in 2011 was 1,474,637 units in the domestic market, compared to 1,465,426 units in 2010, an increase of 0.6% year-on-year. The number of passenger vehicles was 1,211,284 units, which represented a decrease of 0.5% from 1,217,764 units in 2010; passenger vehicles increased by 2.7% from 72,261 units to 72,189 units; and trucks from 165,291 units year-on-year. It increased by 7.9% to 178,402 units; SPV models increased by 5.4% from 12,110 units to 12,762 units.

The overall export volume continues to increase substantially. South Korea's domestic automakers exported 3,151,708 vehicles in overseas markets in 2011, compared with 2,772,107 vehicles in 2010, a year-on-year increase of 13.7%. The number of passenger vehicles was 2,980,659 units, which represented a year-on-year increase of 14.2% compared with 2,610,949 units in 2010; the number of passenger cars increased from 5.8% to 71,795 units from 68,010 units; and the number of trucks from 89,234 units year-on-year. It increased by 8.5% to 96,808 units; SPV models decreased by 37.5% year-on-year to 2,446 units from 3,914 units.