A growing number of Korean drivers opted for diesel and hybrid cars rather than gasoline vehicles in the first seven months of the year due mainly to a recent oil price hike, industry data showed Thursday.
According to the data compiled by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA), diesel-powered vehicles took up 25.7 percent of the country's passenger car market in the January-July period, up from 21.7 percent a year earlier. The passenger car market comprises sedans and sports utility vehicles (SUV).
Sales of vehicles with a diesel engine jumped 12.2 percent on-year during the seven-month period, with 173,623 units sold, while the entire passenger car market retreated 5.2 percent on-year, the data showed.
Hybrid cars accounted for 2.3 percent, with 15,546 units sold during the cited period, also up from 1.1 percent a year ago.
But sales of gasoline-powered cars fell 17.3 percent on-year to 389,388 units in the first seven months of the year, with a share of 57.6 percent, down 8.4 percentage points from a year earlier.
Industry insiders attributed an oil prices hike to the popularity of diesel-powered cars, leading people to put higher emphasis on a better fuel efficiency. Gasoline prices at the pump in Korea topped a record 2,135 won (US$1.88) per liter in April and have been hovering around 2,000 won for months.
Rising sales of SUVs and other types of vans also contributed to the diesel car boom, with a 0.6 percent on-year rise in SUV sales during the cited period, according to the KAMA data. (Yonhap)