South Korean manufacturers have skilfully diversified their global footprint, as demonstrated by this resilience.
Business Desk, Seoul, UK With total outbound car shipments expected to surpass $70 billion by the end of 2025, South Korea‘s automotive export industry is poised to reach a remarkable milestone, setting a new record in both value and global influence. This performance is indicative of South Korea’s strategic shift towards diversified markets and environmentally friendly vehicles, even in the face of major international challenges like ongoing tariff pressures and changing market dynamics.
South Korean auto exports for the first eleven months of 2025 totalled about $66.04 billion, surpassing previous records for the January–November period and indicating that, if current trends continue, annual results will easily surpass the $70 billion barrier.
The global automotive scene is still difficult. For the majority of the year, shipments have been hampered by significant tariffs imposed by the United States, South Korea’s historically biggest export destination. These tariffs can reach 25% on imported automobiles.
Shipments to Europe, Asia, and emerging markets have increased despite the sporadic contraction, mitigating the impact and guaranteeing sustained overall growth. According to indicators for late 2025, auto exports to the United States started to pick up steam in November, reversing an eight-month decline and boosting monthly export totals.
Rather than depending on a single dominant market, South Korean manufacturers have skilfully diversified their global footprint, as demonstrated by this resilience.
The exceptional demand for environmentally friendly automobiles, such as hybrids, electric vehicles (EVs), and hydrogen-powered models, has been a key factor in this export success. This change has been spearheaded by major companies like Hyundai Motor and Kia Corporation. These companies achieved robust sales in North America, Europe, and other regions in 2024, setting new export records for environmentally friendly automobiles.
Indeed, Hyundai and Kia combined to export over 707,000 hybrid and electric vehicles in 2024, while the figure marked a sizable increase on the previous year, underlining South Korea’s growing influence in the global green mobility market.
Industry experts have identified this performance as part of the response to the demands of the changing consumer preference and the increasingly stringent regulations of the emissions standards in the international market. Hybrid vehicles have actually had accelerated demand in the international market because of their ability.
While tariff barriers have complicated access to certain markets, South Korean manufacturers have nonetheless managed to diversify their export destinations. Greater shipments to the European Union, ASEAN members and parts of the Middle East have helped make up for slower U.S. demand, with some regions posting double-digit percentage growth in recent months.
In addition, a surprising factor in the export market has been the emerging market for second-hand vehicles, especially for Russia, Central Asia, as well as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), where the demand has grown quickly.
The export performance of the automotive sector is anything but an isolated success story. It reflects a greater commercial upswing in South Korea, where overall export figures – supported by chips, cars, shipbuilding, and bio-health products – are expected to top $700 billion for the first time in history this year.
This is a testament to the industry competitiveness that exists in this country and where cars have remained key. With autos and more specifically environmentally informed ones continuing to capture the attention of the entire world, there is great potential for growth within exports even beyond 2026.
As 2025 comes to a close, South Korea’s automobile export industry is at a point in history like no other. Going past all previous records and not stopping until they broke through the key $70 billion milestone, South Korean automobile manufacturers have not only showed resilience in their field but have even showcased ingenuity.
