From January to June 2024, South Korea experienced a 2.4% year-on-year decline in automobile production, totaling about 2.15 million units. This decrease directly impacted the country's steel demand. Concurrently, automobile sales in the first half of the year also fell by 10.7% compared to the previous year, with June witnessing a sharper decline of 15.2% to 137,000 vehicles sold.

In June 2024 alone, automobile production further decreased by 4.5% to 354,000 units. South Korean steel manufacturers anticipate a 1.7% decrease in automobile production for the entire year of 2024 compared to 2023, expecting an output of 4.17 million units.

South Korea saw a 3.2% year-on-year increase in car exports in the first half of 2024, reaching 1.47 million vehicles, an uptick from the corresponding period in 2023. Specifically, June exports rose by 5% year-on-year to 252,000 vehicles.

The rise in exports can be attributed to increased shipments to the United States and growing demand for hybrid electric vehicles. In the first half of the year, exports of hybrid electric vehicles surged by 26.2% year-on-year to 204,000 units, with June alone witnessing a 50.3% increase to 38,000 vehicles compared to the previous year.