S. Korea's auto exports to hit record 3 mln units this year

SEOUL, July 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's automobile exports are expected to reach a record high of over 3 million units this year due to growing demand in newly emerging markets, a government report said Thursday. In the first six months of the year, the country shipped 1,540,772 cars, up 15.1 percent from a year earlier and a new half-year high, according to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. Automobile exports in the second half of the year are expected to grow at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.8 percent to 1.46 million units. The ministry attributed the anticipated slowdown of export growth to the worsening price competitiveness of cars manufactured here due to the local currency's appreciation and growing financial troubles in Europe. "Still, the country is expected to post record results this year because of the growing demand in newly emerging markets, improvement of price competitiveness (in Europe) due to the implementation of the Korea-EU free trade agreement and growing demand for small, fuel-efficient vehicles caused by high oil prices," it said in a press release. The free trade deal, which took effect on Friday, calls for eliminating or phasing out tariffs on 96 percent of EU goods and 99 percent of South Korean goods within three years after its implementation. The ministry said domestic sales of automobiles will also increase 1.3 percent this year to 1,576,300 units with sales of imported vehicles expected to top 100,000 units for the first time in history. Domestic sales in the first six months of the year rose 5.1 percent on-year to 790,861 units, the ministry added.