Korea’s New Car Sales Plummet to 11-Year Low.

Seoul: The Republic of Korea's new automobile sales during the first nine months of the year fell over 8 percent from a year earlier amid high borrowing costs and a slowdown in global electric vehicle demand, industry data showed Wednesday. According to Emirates News Agency, data from the Korea Automobile and Mobility Association (KAMA) revealed that registrations of new cars during the January-September period totaled 1,209,154 units, marking an 8.7 percent decrease from the previous year. This figure represents the lowest recording for the nine-month period since 2013 when 1,175,010 units were registered. Gasoline vehicle registrations saw a decrease of 19.6 percent year-on-year to 515,000 units, while diesel vehicle registrations experienced a significant drop of 56.7 percent, totaling 99,000 units. Electric vehicle (EV) registrations also declined by 7.9 percent, reaching 108,000 units. In contrast, hybrid vehicle registrations increased by 27.6 percent, amounting to 355,000 units. Industry analysts ha ve pointed to high-interest rates as a major factor causing consumers to delay car purchases. Additionally, there has been a noticeable stagnation in the demand for electric vehicles. The annual tally for the country's car sales is also projected to reach its lowest level in 11 years, with estimates barely exceeding 1.6 million units. KAMA had previously forecasted annual sales to reach 1.7 million units.