SEOUL, July 31 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's passenger car export tumbled in double figures in the second quarter amid an economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak, customs office data showed Friday.

The outbound shipment of locally-made sedans amounted to 6.2 billion U.S. dollars in the April-June quarter, down 40.6 percent from a year earlier, according to Korea Customs Service. It was faster than a 15.2 percent reduction in the January-March quarter.

The number of cars exported in the second quarter was 350,000, down 47.4 percent compared to the same quarter of last year. During the first quarter, the reading retreated 10.1 percent.

It came as the COVID-19 pandemic discouraged consumers from purchasing new cars amid the shutdowns such as the closure of retail stores.

The passenger car import advanced 17.7 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, sending the trade surplus to 3.3 billion dollars. The surplus was down 58.9 percent from a year ago.

For the first six months of this year, the sedan export amounted to 14.6 billion dollars, down 26.3 percent compared to the six-month period of last year.

The passenger vehicle import grew 8.4 percent over the year to 5.3 billion dollars in the first half. Enditem

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