Container boxes are stacked at a port in Busan, Dec. 31, 2024. (Yonhap)
Container boxes are stacked at a port in Busan, Dec. 31, 2024. (Yonhap)

The unit price of South Korea's exported vehicles last year fell for the first time in eight years amid a prolonged slowdown in electric vehicle sales, data showed Sunday.

South Korea exported 2.78 million units of cars worth $64.1 billion last year, according to data by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association.

The average exporting price per unit totaled $23,048, down $221 from a year earlier.

This is the first on-year decrease since 2016, when the unit price stood at $14,264.

Over the past years, the unit price had shown constant growth, peaking at $23,369 in 2023 on the back of rising demand for high-priced EV.

The recent decline, however, is blamed on waning global demand for eco-friendly cars during the so-called EV chasm, a transitional phase before the widespread adoption of EVs.

South Korea's exports of eco-friendly cars had been on a steady rise from $4.21 billion in 2018 to $23.48 billion in 2023, but dropped to $22.43 billion last year.

In particular, overseas sales of EVs plunged 26.6 percent on-year to 254,000.

"The rise in the unit price of vehicle exports in recent years has been largely influenced by rising demand for eco-friendly cars, mainly EVs," an industry insider said. "The EV Chasm, combined with production disruptions caused by heavy snowfall in November last year, led to a decline in EV exports." (Yonhap)