Daijiworld Media Network – Seoul
Seoul, Jan 26 (IANS): South Korea’s export car prices in 2024 will fall for the first time in eight years, with the sharp drop due to a slowdown in electric vehicle (EV) sales, according to data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association. It is said to be (karma).
The country exported 2.78 million cars worth $64.1 billion last year, with the average price per vehicle dropping $221 to $23,048. This is the first decline since 2016, when the unit price was $14,264. Prices have been steadily rising over the past few years, peaking at $23,369 in 2023 due to increased demand for high-priced EVs.
This decline is linked to the ‘EV chasm’, a transitional stage before widespread adoption of EVs, and a decline in global demand for greener cars. South Korea’s exports of environmentally friendly vehicles, including EVs, had been on the rise for many years, but decreased from $23.48 billion in 2023 to $22.43 billion in 2024. Specifically, overseas EV sales plummeted by 26.6% to 254,000 units.
Industry insiders pointed out that EV demand had previously pushed up vehicle prices, but in addition to the slump in EV exports, production delays due to heavy snowfall in November 2024 contributed to the price decline.
In response to the economic slowdown, the South Korean government announced plans to invest 1.5 trillion won ($1.02 billion) this year to address concerns about safety and charging infrastructure and boost domestic EV sales. . Despite these efforts, domestic EV sales decreased by 9.7% from the previous year to 147,000 units, marking the second consecutive year of decline.
