South Korean vehicle production declines 4.7% y/y in November, exports down 4%

Withdrawal of the Chevrolet brand from Europe is continuing to affect total vehicle production at General Motors (GM) Korea.

New vehicle production in South Korea declined 4.7% year on year (y/y) to 406,491 units in November, according to data released by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA). Of this tally, vehicle exports accounted for 274,757 units, down 4.0% y/y. According to data released by the five major South Korean automakers and the country's importers' association, total new vehicle sales during November stood at 143,902 units, up an impressive 8.2% y/y. Sales by domestic automakers accounted for 126,943 units (up 6.5% y/y), while imported vehicle sales accounted for 16,959 units (up 22.4% y/y; see . For the year to date (YTD), total vehicle production stands at 4,090,162 units, down slightly by 0.3% y/y, while vehicle exports are down 1.4% y/y at 2,760,040 units. Total new vehicle sales during January-November came in at 1,478,942 units, of which domestic sales accounted for 1,229,703 units (up 4% y/y), while the remainder came from imported brands.