South Korea’s exports of used vehicles surged 81.3% year-on-year to $8.4 billion in January–November 2025, according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, cited by Yonhap News Agency.
This boom served as the main driver behind the country’s overall automotive export growth — which rose just 2% to $66 billion for the period. Notably, exports of new vehicles and automotive parts declined by 4.2% to $57.6 billion, a trend analysts attribute to U.S. tariff pressures and Hyundai Motor Group’s strategy of expanding overseas production.
Particularly striking is Kyrgyzstan’s emergence as the top destination for South Korean used cars: from January to October 2025, imports from Korea reached $2.62 billion — nearly three times higher than Russia’s $909 million, which ranked second. Kazakhstan ($664 million) and the UAE ($337 million) followed in third and fourth place, respectively.
Experts note that Kyrgyzstan functions as a key transit hub, with a significant share of imported vehicles subsequently re-exported to other Central Asian countries and Russia. This intermediary role — combined with improved regional logistics corridors and streamlined customs procedures — explains the record-breaking import volume.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
December 22, 2025