IMPORT & EXPORT MARKET
The opportunity in the used car industry lies in the "used car export market." Over the past three years, domestic new car export numbers have been continuously decreasing, which can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic-related supply chain issues, semiconductor shortages, and various external factors. For example, the annual export volume of new cars, which was around 2.5 million units in 2017, has decreased to about 2 million units by 2021. In contrast, domestic used car export numbers have been on a growth trend, increasing from approximately 280,000 units in 2017 to about 460,000 units in 2021. The rise in global awareness and perception of Korean used cars has been identified as a major cause of this growth.
Despite cooling effects from local interest rate hikes and financial regulations in December 2022, South Korea's used car exports were successfully concluded. Exports to the Middle East, Russia, and Central Asia were favorable, while exports to South and Central America helped compensate for the slowdown. Despite previous decreases due to increased shipping costs and shipwreck incidents, December 2022 exports were not affected by such issues.
In December of the previous year, a total of 37,614 used cars were exported. This figure is a 6.6% decrease from the 40,251 units exported in November but represents a 29.3% increase compared to the 29,101 units exported during the same period the previous year, indicating a lower export figure for December last year, which was the lowest point of that year.
The total export value in December was $322 million, a 10.1% decrease from November's $359 million, but a significant 136% increase from $137 million in December of the previous year. This value increase is attributed to both the increase in the number of exports and the average price per unit. The average export price per unit was about $8,600, which, while slightly lower than recent averages, is more than double the previous year's average of $4,200, primarily due to increased exports of high-priced used cars to Russia and neighboring countries.
ByeByeCar plans to act as a bridge for overseas exports for scrapyard owners and used car brokers listed on its platform by connecting them with used car buyers in Southeast Asia and other regions as part of its service expansion.
Last updated