Korean automakers output jumps 24% in Jan.

Korea's five automakers saw their production surge in January from a year earlier due mainly to brisk overseas shipments, a trade association said Wednesday.

The five carmakers, led by Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp., produced a combined 387,188 units last month, up 23.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA).

The number does not include vehicles produced at their overseas plants.

Outbound shipments of vehicles produced here reached 253,300 units in January, up 41.8 percent from the previous year and a record high for January.

The increase came as a global economic recovery and expansion of new models shored up overseas demand for South Korean cars, the KAMA said.

Domestic sales inched up 1.3 percent from a year ago to reach 121,005 units on the back of growing demand for small cars and sport utility vehicles, the KAMA said.