South Korea's auto exports fall 10.5% in October due to US tariffs and mid-autumn celebrations

South Korea saw its car exports plummet by more than 10% last month due to a 25% tariff on exports to the US and fewer factory days due to the mid-autumn celebration (Chuseok) holiday.
Exports to regions such as Europe, Asia, and Latin America remained strong, but exports to the United States, the largest market, fell by nearly 30% due to the impact of tariffs.
According to the "October 2025 Automotive Industry Trends" released by South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 20th, last month's automobile exports fell 10.5% from October last year to $5.55 billion.
Automobile exports had been on a year-on-year increase for four consecutive months from June to September, but began to decline last month.
The ministry said that last year's mid-autumn celebration holiday fell in September, but this year it was postponed to October, meaning that the number of operating days in October will be three days longer than last year.
However, it was revealed that the cumulative export value from January to October was $59.6 billion, setting a new record for exports following last year.
By region, exports to the United States, South Korea's largest automobile export market, fell 29.0% from October last year to $2.12 billion.
Automobile exports to the United States have been on a downward trend for eight consecutive months, due in part to the impact of the Trump administration's imposition of a 25% tariff on all imported cars from April.
However, with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the United States and South Korea on investment in the United States on the 14th of this month, if the South Korean government submits a bill to the National Assembly to implement the investment, the 25% self-imposed tax rate will be increased from November.
Vehicle tariffs will be retroactively applied to 15%, bringing them down to the same level as Japan and the EU (European Union).
EU exports in October fell only slightly by 2.1% to $750 million, but other
Exports to Europe rose 10.4% to $480 million, while exports to Asia rose 42.0% to $800 million and Latin America rose 23.7% to $290 million, supporting overall exports.
Exports of eco-cars in October totaled 64,427 units, up 0.9% from the same month last year, marking the 10th consecutive month of year-on-year growth.
Among eco-friendly cars, exports of electric vehicles increased 0.3% to 19,247 units, the first increase in 16 months in June.
Exports of hybrid vehicles also increased by 3.9% to 42,683 units, continuing their growth trend despite the overall decline in exports.
Exports of electric vehicles totaled 2,492 units, down 30.8%. Domestic car sales in October totaled 127,138 units, down 12.8% from the same month last year. Domestic sales of eco-cars in October totaled 60,366 units.
The three vehicles increased by 1.4%, driving overall domestic sales. Electric vehicles (19,318 units) grew significantly, up 56.1%, followed by hybrid vehicles (42,857 units) and plug-in hybrids.
Domestic automobile production in October fell 17.6% from the previous year to 302,893 units due to factors such as a reduction in the number of operating days.