Seoul, Sep 16 (IANS) South Korea’s car exports increased 8.6 per cent from a year earlier in August despite US tariffs, thanks to robust demand for electric vehicles (EVs) in Europe, data showed on Tuesday.

The value of outbound shipments of automobiles came to US$5.5 billion last month, the highest figure for any August, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

In terms of volume, exports gained 5.5 percent on-year to 200,317 vehicles last month. The value of accumulated auto exports from January to August reached an all-time high of $47.7 billion, reports Yonhap news agency.

The ministry said demand for Korean cars went up in all regions, except for North America, where Korean cars are currently subject to 25 per cent tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

Exports to the European Union surged 54 per cent on-year to $792 million last month, with shipments to Germany and the Netherlands soaring 118.7 per cent and 110.3 per cent, respectively.

Exports to Britain shot up 115.7 percent on-year to $250 million, and shipments to Turkey spiked 96.1 percent to $100 million.

Shipments to Asia went up 9.3 percent to $591 million, and those to the Middle East rose 9.8 percent to $369 million. Exports to Oceania jumped 20.1 percent to $344 million.

Shipments to North America, however, shrank 8.3 percent on-year to $2.55 billion in August, with exports to the U.S. dipping 15.2 percent to $2.1 billion.

By type, exports of eco-friendly cars, such as EVs, hybrid cars and hydrogen EVs, expanded 26.6 percent from a year earlier to 69,000 vehicles last month.

In particular, shipments of EVs surged 78.4 percent to 23,000 vehicles amid the global popularity of Kia’s EV3 model and Hyundai Motor’s Casper Electric model, sold as the Inster in overseas markets.

At home, sales of automobiles rose 8.3 percent on-year to 139,000 units, up for the seventh consecutive month.

Eco-friendly vehicles accounted for more than half of vehicles sold in South Korea in August, marking a 36.1 percent increase from a year earlier, according to the ministry.

In August, the domestic production of cars climbed 7.1 percent to 321,000 units, backed by the expansion of exports and domestic sales.

—IANS

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