In January 2026, automobile export volume increased 23.4 percent year-on-year, with domestic sales up 14.0 percent, and production up 24.1 percent. There were three fewer working days in January 2025 than in 2026 since the 2025 Lunar New Year holiday fell on January 25–30. Nevertheless, the strong growth in eco-friendly vehicle exports remained clearly evident.

Automobile exports totaled USD 6.1 billion, up 21.7 percent year-on-year, the second-highest January export value on record. Eco-friendly vehicle exports accounted for 42 percent of the total, led by hybrid vehicles at USD 1.7 billion (up 85.5 percent) and electric vehicles at USD 0.8 billion (up 21.2 percent).

Export volumes reached 247,000 units, up 23.4 percent year-on-year. Eco-friendly vehicles amounted to 92,000 units (up 51.5 percent), accounting for 37.4 percent of total exports.

Domestic sales rose 14.0 percent year-on-year to 121,000 units. Domestically produced vehicles totaled 98,000 units (up 9.6 percent) and imported vehicles totaled 23,000 units (up 37.9 percent). By model, the Sorento, Sportage, and Carnival recorded the highest sales volumes.

Eco-friendly vehicle sales increased 48.3 percent year-on-year to 58,000 units, accounting for 47.7 percent of domestic sales. Electric vehicle sales rose to 10,000 units, up 507.2 percent year-on-year.

Production rose 24.1 percent year-on-year to 361,000 units on strong exports and domestic sales. By model, the Trax recorded the highest output, followed by the Avante and Kona. Output increased year-on-year across all five domestic automakers, and some automakers that had temporarily suspended plant operations in January 2025 posted production growth of more than 2,000 percent.

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MOTIR press release, edited by David Kendall