South Korea's car exports reached an eight-year high in the first half of this year on the back of global popularity of eco-friendly cars, data showed Friday.

The value of outbound shipments of automobiles grew 3.2 percent on-year to $24.35 billion during the January-June period, which marked the highest figure since 2014, when the figure came to $25.23 billion, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

In terms of volume, a total of 1.07 million vehicles were sold during the cited period, up 1.5 percent from the previous year, it added.

Car exports marked the on-year growth despite unfavorable global circumstances, such as the crisis surrounding Ukraine and high inflation, the ministry said, adding the upbeat sales overseas were attributable to brisk demand for eco-friendly cars.

Exports of eco-friendly vehicles spiked 37.7 percent on-year to 251,878 units in the first half. In terms of value, sales jumped 42.7 percent on-year to reach $7.31 billion, the data showed.

Eco-friendly cars accounted for 26.1 percent of the country's total car exports in terms of volume during the cited period, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)