Mexico raised at a year-on-year rate of 22.5% its auto parts imports from South Korea in 2022, to US$1.8 billion, reported that nation’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE).
Overall, South Korean auto parts exports grew 2.4% to US$23.3 billion last year.
Shipments of automotive parts to the U.S. market also stood out, with a year-on-year increase of 16.2% to US$8 billion.
Auto parts
In South Korea, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO), specialization in a few key sectors (such as the electrical and electronic equipment industry, the automotive sector, petrochemicals and other heavy industrial products) that depend on a small number of large companies increasingly exposes the economy to internal and external shocks.
The reason is that these sectors are highly interconnected with other domestic industries through forward and backward linkages and with foreign markets through export-import linkages, which exposes Korea to lasting shocks in global value chains.
At the same time, the continued decline in global trade, rising protectionism, abandonment of multilateralism, geopolitical tensions and/or lower-than-expected global growth could negatively impact exports, further dampen investment and increase unemployment.
In addition, auto parts exports to Slovakia (+9.4%, to 1.4 billion) and Vietnam (+26.4%, to 1.2 billion) increased, while those to China (-21.6%, to 1.4 billion) decreased.
In the South Korean automotive industry, Hyundai, Kia and GM Korea stand out, accounting for 92.3% of total production.
Prices
MOTIE announced that the annual value of South Korea’s auto exports by 2022 increased 16.4%, to $54.1 billion, and export volume grew 13.3%, to 2.3 million units.
In terms of auto production and domestic sales, the industry experienced an increase of 8.5% and a decrease of 2.4%, respectively.
Export growth is attributed to growing demand for high-quality domestic brands, as well as relatively competitive prices due to the high exchange rate.
In particular, luxury brands and eco-friendly models experienced strong growth.
On the other hand, the South Korean government approved a plan to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TIPAT, in which Mexico participates), in a finally official announcement after a period of analysis and consultations with interested parties in that country.
