South Korean automakers produced 761975 vehicles in the third quarter of this year, down 20.9% from a year earlier and the lowest in nearly 13 years, according to data released on Sunday by the Korea Automobile Industry Association ((KAMA)).

South Korean car production increased year-on-year in the first and second quarters of this year, reaching 908848 and 905699 respectively, but due to the spread of the epidemic in Southeast Asia in the second half of this year, the problem of insufficient supply of vehicle semiconductors further intensified, resulting in production of less than 800000 vehicles in the third quarter.

The industry had expected the shortage of semiconductor chips to be alleviated from September to October, but the factories of global automotive semiconductor companies in Southeast Asia were shut down because of the Delta mutant strain, and the semiconductor shortage problem showed no sign of easing.

In terms of enterprises, Hyundai Motor (41.85,-0.90,-2.11%) produced 350209 vehicles in the third quarter, down 15.8% from the same period last year; Kia produced 321734 vehicles, down 6.5% from the same period last year; GM's South Korean subsidiary suffered a cliff cut in production, producing only 45939 vehicles; Ssangyong, which has started the sale process, produced 20499 vehicles, down 21.7% from the same period last year. In addition, Renault (7.655, 0.24, 3.17%), which was less affected by the chip shortage, produced 33760 vehicles, an increase of 7% over the same period last year.