Libya becomes top importer of Korean used cars

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Korean exports of used cars jumped 43 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the figure a year earlier, with Libya becoming the largest importer, data showed Sunday.

According to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), Korea shipped 59,000 units of pre-owned cars to Libya from January to March, or 55 percent of its entire used-car export volume.

The volume of 107,321 units is the second-highest quarterly shipment number. The current record was set in the second quarter of 2012, when the figure reached 107,573 units.

Other major importers of used cars from Korea were Cambodia, followed by Ghana, Chile and Jordan, according to KITA. These four countries each imported about 4,000 second-hand cars from Korea in the January-March period.

Graphic by Cho Sang-won

Industry analysts said that local vehicles became more competitive in the global market due to the weakened won.

“A weaker won stimulates exports, but Korea needs to diversify its export markets. Concentrating on a single export country may be risky in the long term,” a KITA official said.

“Korean used cars are popular in the global market because of their low price, sophisticated design and high performance,” a Korea-Trade Investment Promotion Activity official said.

“The fact that the Middle East is a left-hand drive market allows customers to show interest in Korean used cars,” he added.

Among cars shipped abroad, passenger cars accounted for 86,792 vehicles, while other larger vehicles, including vans and trucks, took up the remaining 20,529.

KITA expects that annual shipment of used cars may exceed 400,000 vehicles for the first time in 2019 considering the stronger-than-expected January-March performance. The highest record so far was set in 2012, when the figure reached 373,000.

Meanwhile, the country's outbound shipments of new cars rose to 582,075 vehicles in the first quarter of this year, up 1.4 percent from a year earlier.