[ferro-alloys.com] South Korea produced 354,305 automobiles in January, up 9.8% from the year before, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Tuesday.

The increase was attributed to local producers increasing production ahead of the Seollal lunar new year holiday that fell over February 4-6 this year but in mid-February last year, and the launch of new models.

Exports in January totaled 213,618 units, up 12.6% year on year, amid strong demand for sport utility vehicles and more environmentally friendly cars in the US, the ministry said.

January's exports were valued at $3.67 billion, of which the US accounted for $1.5 billion and the European Union $820 million, up 19.6% and 20.4% on year, respectively, the ministry said.

Automotive steel is a major sales segment for South Korean steelmakers such as Posco, which sold about 91 million mt of such steel in 2017 and plans to raise its sales volume to 120 million mt/year by 2025.

Hyundai Steel produces about 5 million mt/year of cold-rolled automotive steel that is supplied to local automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors.

（S&P Global Platts）

• [Editor:王可]