Seoul: South Korea's car exports went up from a year earlier in March, driven by rising demand from Asian countries while shipments to the United States dropped sharply ahead of the start of US tariffs on auto imports, data showed.

According to Qatar News Agency, the value of outbound shipments of automobiles came to US$6.24 billion last month, up 1.2 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It was the second consecutive month of increase and the second-highest export value ever for any March, the Ministry added. In terms of volume, however, exports fell 2.4 percent on-year to 240,874 vehicles.

The export value of eco-friendly cars declined 3.1 percent on-year to $2.02 billion in March. In terms of volume, however, sales advanced 5.8 percent to 68,760 units. Of the total, 41,969 were hybrid models, and 20,757 units were electric vehicles (EVs), the data showed.

By region, exports to North America fell 8.4 percent on-year to $3.27 billion, primarily due to a 10.8 percent decline of shipments to the United States, which totaled $2.78 billion. Exports to the European Union decreased 3 percent to $780 million. However, exports to Asian countries surged 61.8 percent to $660 million, and those to the Middle East rose 21.2 percent to $490 million, the data showed.

In the Korean market, sales of automobiles rose 2.4 percent on-year to 149,512 units in March, while domestic production climbed 1.5 percent to 370,836 units. During the first quarter of this year, the value of car exports went down 1.3 percent and sales volume lost 2.2 percent from a year earlier. In a statement, the Ministry said "the decline was attributed to a reduced number of working days this year and a high base effect, as exports in the first quarter of 2024 had reached an all-time high."