Korea’s five carmakers ― Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors and Ssangyong Motor ― saw their exports to the European Union worsen last year, with falling car sales across Europe showing no sign of recovery.

According to industry data on Monday, the nation’s car exports to EU countries decreased 6.5 percent to 388,223 vehicles last year from 426,057 units in 2011

In 2011, the first year when the free trade pact between Korea and the EU went into effect, Korea’s car exports to the region soared 42.8 percent compared to those in the previous year.

“Korea’s car exports also declined last year, bucking the industry outlook for a sales rebound following the Korea-EU FTA. With the financial crisis deepening among EU nations, demand for new cars has been falling there,” said an official of the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association.

The lobby group for Korean automotive companies said low demand in the EU extended declines from 13.13 million vehicles in 2011 to 12.05 million last year, a 8.2 percent decrease.

In the meantime, Hyundai and its affiliate Kia were the only Korean car brands that sold more cars in Europe after expanding production capacities there.

Hyundai, which operates a manufacturing plant in the Czech Republic, posted 20.5 percent growth in European sales from 251,518 in 2011 to 303,013 last year.

Kia, which owns a factory in Slovakia, also sold 15.8 percent more cars to reach 292,000 units.

Despite the weakening exports to the EU, the total car exports by the five carmakers recorded a slight 0.6 percent increase globally to 3.17 million vehicles last year, largely driven by their strong performance in North America. 

The total volume amounted to a record-high of $43.62 billion.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)