Koreas registered cars top 18 million

The number of registered vehicles in South Korea exceeded 18 million last month amid improving consumer sentiment bolstered by economic recovery, the transportation ministry said Thursday.

Registered cars totaled 18.04 million at the end of January, up from 17.94 million reported at the end of last year, according to data provided by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.

The ministry expected the number to exceed 20 million by the end of 2014 if the current pace of increase holds up. South Korea has a population of around 50 million.

Gasoline-fueled cars accounted for 49.7 percent of the total, down from 67.5 percent reported in 1997. The ratios of cars powered by diesel and liquefied petroleum gas, however, rose to 36.1 percent and 13.6 percent from 28.3 percent and 3.8 percent over the same period, the ministry said.

The number of imported cars came to 527,000 last month, making up 2.92 percent of the all registered vehicles here, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)