S. Korea's auto production down 20% in first half

Production by South Korea's automakers dropped 19.8 percent to 1.63 million vehicles in the first half due to the pandemic to record an 11-year low.

It was the lowest figure since the first half of 2009 when there were 1.53 million units produced.

The sharp drop resulted mainly from overseas shipments plunging 33.4 percent on-year to about 826,700 units in the first half.

In contrast, their domestic sales came to nearly 802,500, the largest figure since 2016.

SsangYong Motor Co. saw its first-half output plummeted 32.6 percent on-year to some 48,160, while GM Korea Co.'s production plunged 31 percent on-year to about 159,400 units.

Kia Motors Corp. posted an 18.5 percent drop to some 608,300 units, as Hyundai's production dipped 17 percent on-year to some 742,370 units.