South Korea’s Automobile Production Results in 2023

South Korea's automobile production volume in 2023 increased by 13.0% from the previous year to 4,243,597 units following the normalization of automotive semiconductor and other parts supply. Production exceeded the 4 million level for the first time in five years since 2018. Hyundai and GM Korea both increased sales by more than 200,000 units from the previous year. In addition, vehicle exports increased significantly by 20.3% to nearly 2.8 million units, accounting for approximately 65% of all production.

The production of passenger vehicles increased by 13.7% year-on-year to 3,908,747 units, while commercial vehicle production went up 5.1% to 334,850 units. Within the passenger vehicle segment, although passenger cars decreased by 2.5% to 1,025,824 units, but SUVs increased significantly by 21.2% to 2,711,739 units.

Looking at production results by manufacturer, other than Renault Korea and Tata Daewoo all automakers increased volume compared to 2022. Hyundai Motor Group, which accounts for more than 80% of domestic production, produced 1,946,447 units under the Hyundai and Genesis brands, an increase of 12.4% from the previous year. The Kia brand saw a rise of 9.0% in production to 1,606,253 units.