South Korean exports of hybrid and electric vehicles have grown rapidly in recent years according to industry data.

The Korea Herald report that data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturer Association (KAMA) showed that from 2012 to 2018, the country’s automotive exports fell by an annual average of 4.2%, but exports of eco-friendly cars rose by an average of 33.1% pa.

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A total of 196,000 electric and hybrid vehicles were exported last year, accounting for about 8% of South Korea’s overall vehicle exports. In 2012, only 35,000 such vehicles were exported.

KAMA attributed the trend to the efforts of Korean automakers to diversify their eco-friendly vehicle line-ups to meet increasing global consumer demand for eco-friendly cars.

Over the same seven-year period, hybrids accounted for 80.3% of Korea’s eco-friendly car exports, backed by the popularity of plug-in hybrid models. Other EVs, including fuel cell electric vehicles, made up the rest.

According to KAMA, Korea exported 90% of its eco-friendly cars to North America, the next most popular export destinations being Israel, the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain.

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