SEOUL, June 13 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's auto exports kept rising for the fourth consecutive month through May on demand for environmentally-friendly models, a government report showed Tuesday.
The car exports reached 221,237 vehicles in May, up 2.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
In terms of value, the auto shipments gained 3.6 percent to 3.51 billion U.S. dollars. It was the fourth consecutive month of expansion.
Demand was strong for locally-made cars that are environmentally friendly. From January to April, the exports of green cars surged to 45,475 units, compared with 6,331 vehicles in the same period of last year.
The average export price per car increased from 14,103 dollars during the January-April period last year to 15,047 dollars in the same period of this year.
Car shipments to North America declined 9.9 percent in May from a year earlier, but those to the European Union (EU) member countries posted a double-digit increase.
In the domestic market, auto sales slumped 6.3 percent from a year earlier to 155,735 units in May. Local car sales fell 7.3 percent to 134,263 units, but imported car sales were almost unchanged at 21,472 vehicles.
Auto production in local factories dipped 1.5 percent to 356,204 units due to less business days.
Auto parts exports tumbled 12.4 percent to 1.85 billion dollars as South Korean carmakers reduced production in overseas factories.
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