ULSAN — The structure of automobile exports through Ulsan Port is being reshaped rapidly around hybrid electric vehicles. Total shipments held steady from a year earlier, while hybrids topped 36% of exports for the first time on record, pushing the combined share of environmentally friendly vehicles past 40%.
Ulsan Customs said on the 28th that automobile exports through the port totaled 596,490 units in the January-July period of 2026. That was little changed from 596,574 units a year earlier, but the composition shifted sharply.
The biggest change was the surge in hybrids. Hybrid exports reached 214,797 units in the seven months, up 27.7% from 168,237 units a year earlier. Their share of total exports climbed to 36.0% from 28.2%, a gain of 7.8 percentage points and a record high.
Exports of internal combustion engine vehicles and battery electric vehicles both fell. Combustion-engine shipments dropped 7.4% to 356,080 units from 384,335 units, cutting their share to 59.7% from 64.4%. Electric vehicle exports plunged 41.8% to 25,613 units from 44,002 units, accounting for just 4.3% of the total.
The hybrid gain of about 47,000 units offset declines of roughly 28,000 units in combustion-engine vehicles and about 18,000 units in electric vehicles. Combined exports of hybrids and electric vehicles rose to 240,410 units, lifting the green vehicle share of total exports to 40.3% this year from 35.6% last year, a gain of 4.7 percentage points.
Over the longer term, hybrids have settled in as a core pillar of auto exports from Ulsan Port. Hybrids accounted for just 13.8% of shipments, or 116,985 units, in 2021, then grew to 30.3%, or 305,770 units, in 2025 before reaching 36.0% this year. Over the same period, the combustion-engine share fell to 59.7% from 77.5%. With electric vehicle demand cooling after climbing steeply through 2024, hybrids are serving as an export mainstay during the transition to electrification, according to the customs office.
Destination markets differed by powertrain. For hybrids, the United States was the largest market at 91,479 units, or 42.6%, followed by Canada at 30,947 units, or 14.4%, Australia at 28,007 units, or 13.0%, the United Kingdom at 11,869 units, or 5.5%, and Israel at 10,535 units, or 4.9%.
Combustion-engine vehicles relied on North America for about 80% of shipments, with the U.S. taking 223,374 units, or 62.7%, and Canada 60,026 units, or 16.9%. Electric vehicle exports were spread more evenly, with Canada at 5,663 units, or 22.1%, Germany at 4,183 units, or 16.3%, the U.K. at 3,301 units, or 12.9%, and Australia at 2,456 units, or 9.6%.
"While total auto export volume through Ulsan Port is holding steady, the mix is being upgraded quickly around hybrids," an official at Ulsan Customs said. "We will closely analyze customs clearance trends by vehicle type and destination country to continue supporting export flows in the region's key industries."
