The UK is now the largest EU new car market for Korean car brands, with some 190,215 vehicles registered in 2017, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Korea is now UK auto’s third biggest Asian export market, behind only China and Japan. The UK is the EU’s second biggest manufacturer of premium products behind Germany, including British brands such as Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar Land Rover, Lotus, McLaren, MINI and Rolls Royce.
The recent growth has also been helped by the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), applied in 2011, which enables cars and components to move across borders without tariffs.
‘Britain is one of the most important global markets for Korean manufacturers, and vice-versa, with consumers in both countries benefitting from a huge choice of cutting-edge models,’ said Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said.
This story is reprinted from material from the SMMT, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
