SEOUL, Nov. 10 ( Yonhap ) - The automotive industry of South Korea saw that production and exports reached a monthly record in October as lines resumed operation after labor strikes , said Sunday , the Ministry of Commerce , Industry and Energy.
The total car production in the country reached 425,577 units last month, up 7.3 percent from the previous year, while exports rose 9 percent on-year to 280,609 units , or a value of 4.65 billion during the same period, according to the ministry .
This is the monthly production and higher exports of history, the ministry said, citing as part of the reason for the record figures, the early resumption of the production lines at major automakers after the strikes of their unionized workers .
Korean cars are also changing, if cheap models towards higher value-added models , the ministry said .
The average price of a Korean car has been increasing at a steady pace to reach $ 14,400 per unit at the end of September, compared with $ 10,411 in 2005 and $ 7,386 in 2000.
The ministry expects that the cumulative production of South Korean auto exceed, for the first time, the mark of 80 million units later this month , as the figure reached 79.6 million units by the end of October.
The ministry expected that total production will exceed 100 million mark in 2017.
