Sales of Japanese cars plunged in South Korea last month due to the boycott of Japanese products.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Aug. 15, domestic sales of cars fell by 2.4 percent year-on-year to 151,091 units in the first seven months of this year. Domestic-made cars fell 2.0 percent to 129,463 units, while imported cars fell 4.8 percent to 21,628.
The decline in overall domestic sales was attributed to a drop in sales of imported Japanese brands following Japan's announcement of export regulations on South Korea on July 1.
Japanese brand imported cars were sold 3,946 units in June, but only 2,674 units were sold in July, down 32.2 percent from the previous month. Compared with July last year, the figure was down 17.2 percent.
Last month, both domestic car production and exports posted the steepest growth this year. Exports of eco-friendly cars hit a record monthly high.
In July this year, the country's automobile production was tentatively estimated at 359,554 units, up 17.4 percent from the same month last year. Domestic sales of new and partially altered models released this year rose and exports continued to rise, marking the biggest gain in 2019.
Exports rose 11.6 percent to 215,927 units as sales of eco-friendly cars remained brisk, mainly in North America and Europe. It is the biggest gain this year, as is production.
In the case of eco-friendly cars, domestic sales came to 12,421 units, up 23.0 percent from the same month last year. As a result, eco-friendly cars accounted for 9.7 percent of all domestic sales of passenger cars, up from 7.9 percent last year. Exports were the largest monthly figure ever, surging 102.3 percent from a year earlier to 25,063 units.
