S. Korea's auto exports up 5.1 pct in February

SEOUL, March 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's car exports expanded more than 5 percent in February on increased production capacity, despite a global shortage of automotive chips, data showed Wednesday.

Outbound shipments of automobiles stood at 167,682 units last month, up 5.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

In terms of value, auto exports also increased 9.1 percent on-year to US$3.84 billion last month.

Industry watchers attributed the solid gain in exports to a slight increase in auto production despite the chip shortage, as well as brisk overseas sales of eco-friendly vehicles.

Domestic production of automobiles rose 1.2 percent on-year to 263,959 units last month thanks to automakers' completion of new production lines.

Overseas shipments of green vehicles soared 51.9 percent on-year to 39,256 units in February, with those of electric vehicles nearly doubling to 17,645.

Exports of auto parts decreased 1.1 percent on-year to $1.78 billion last month due to the shortage of automotive chips.

Sales of locally made automobiles gained 2.3 percent on-year to 103,097 units in February. But those of imported cars sank 12.1 percent to 19,832, marking the sixth consecutive month of on-year declines, according to the data.

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