S. Korea's auto exports may drop 13.8 pct in Q2

SEOUL, March 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korean auto exports are expected to fall 13.8
percent in the second quarter of this year, an industry report said Sunday,
indicating local carmakers will not emerge from the ongoing slump anytime soon.
Korean automakers, led by Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp.,
are expected to export 640,000 vehicles in the April-June period, compared with
the 742,000 vehicles they shipped during the same period last year, according to
the quarterly report by the Federation of Korean Industries.
But the pace of the decline was less dramatic than the previous quarter, when
auto exports plunged 30.2 percent on-year to 480,000 units, the report showed.
"In the coming quarter, auto exports will continue to remain weak as the global
economic crisis hampers demand," the federation said in a statement.
In the second quarter, domestic vehicle sales are forecast to decline 16.8
percent on-year to 264,000 units, it said.
To control rising inventories of unsold vehicles, Hyundai, Kia and other South
Korean carmakers have cut their working hours and idled some production lines.
(END)