South Korea’s EV exports rebound in June after 16-month decline

South Korea’s exports of electric vehicles bounced back last month, snapping a 16-month streak of declines as robust demand from Europe helped offset reduced shipments to the US amid steep import tariffs.

According to data released by Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Thursday, Korea’s vehicle exports hit $6.34 billion in June, up 2.3% from the same month of last year. This marked the country’s largest car exports in value for June.

By region, outbound shipments to the EU jumped 32.6% to $760 million over the same period, while those to Europe, excluding EU members, and Asia also surged 52.3% to $600 million and 35.8% to $5.23 billion, respectively.

Brisk sales of Korea-made cars in Europe and Asia more than offset a 16.0% drop in exports to the US, which fell to $2.69 billion following the imposition of a 25% tariff on imported cars under the Donald Trump administration in April.

Robust Korean car sales in regions outside the US were mainly led by strong demand for Korean electric vehicles in EU nations and used cars in non-EU countries and Asia, according to the trade ministry.

KOREAN EVS ARE POPULAR IN THE EU 


Driven by strong EV demand from Europe, total exports of Korea-made EVs, including hydrogen fuel-cell cars, increased 11.2% on-year to $780 million in value and 21.4% to 22,343 units in volume.

This marked the first gain in Korean EV exports since January 2024.

As the EU has further tightened regulations on car emissions this year, the bloc’s auto market has been restructured around EVs.

Hyundai Motor Co.'s compact, all-electric SUV, the Hyundai Casper Electric, and Kia Corp.'s EV3 have gained in popularity since their launch in the region late last year.

“Korean EVs have also benefited from the EU’s imposition of a maximum 35.3% tariff on EVs imported from China due to unfair government subsidies.

Some analysts also see a silver lining in the prolonged EV chasm, a temporary dip in EV demand as the market struggles to move beyond early adoption, in Europe.

Korea’s total exports of eco-friendly cars, including EVs and hybrid cars, also climbed 18.6% on-year to $2.19 billion in June, breaking the previous monthly record for a third month in a row.

The country’s total outbound shipments of vehicles in the first half of this year declined 3.8% to 1.41 million units, faring better than expected despite the US tariffs, the trade ministry said.

But some consumers in the US are believed to have hurried to purchase cars before the onset of tariffs on imported cars.

Write to Dae-Hun Kim at daepun@hankyung.com
Sookyung Seo edited this article.