Eco-friendly vehicle exports increase 47 percent on year

Kia's K8 Hybrid was introduced early this month. [KIA]

Exports of eco-friendly vehicles by Korean automakers jumped by 47 percent in the first four months of 2021 on year on strong demand for hybrids.

According to data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) Monday, automakers in Korea exported a total of 118,796 eco-friendly vehicles, which includes hybrid, plug-in hybrids, battery electric and fuel-cell electric vehicles, during the Jan.-April period, a 46.6 percent year-on-year jump.

This year through April, 66,444 hybrid vehicles were exported, which is 64 percent more than the same period last year. Plug-in hybrid vehicle exports rose 20.2 percent.

Battery electric vehicle exports totaled 40,135, the KAMA data showed, a 31.5 percent year-on-year jump, while fuel-cell electric vehicle exports rose by 526 units, 39.5 percent jump.

Eco-friendly vehicle exports to the United States grew rapidly, up 146.3 percent year-on-year. Automakers in Korea shipped 40,609 eco-friendly vehicles to North America, 34.2 percent of all eco-friendly vehicle exports.

Korea sold 68,443 eco-friendly vehicles to Europe, up 16.9 percent on year. Deliveries to Europe were 57.6 percent of the total.

In terms of battery electric and fuel-cell electric vehicles, exports to the United States fell 4.1 percent year-on-year, and to Europe were down 2.4 percent year-on-year.

New hybrid and plug-in hybrid models by Hyundai Motor and Kia contributed to the strong exports.

Hyundai Motor started selling hybrid versions of the Avante sedan and Tucson SUV last year. The plug-in hybrid version of the Santa Fe SUV from Hyundai and the Sorento SUV from Kia were also made available in select overseas market from early this year.

Among Hyundai Motor's hybrids, the Kona Hybrid SUV was the most popular model in the overseas market, with 11,648 shipped this year as of April, followed by hybrid versions of the Ioniq, Tucson, Santa Fe and Sonata.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]