The nation’s exports of eco-friendly vehicles in the first half surpassed seven billion U.S. dollars for the first time, boosting the value of exports to an eight-year high.

According to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy on Friday, the country’s auto exports came to 24-point-35 billion dollars in the first six months of the year, up three-point-two percent on-year.

It’s the best performance in eight years since the first half of 2014, when it reached 25-point-23 billion dollars. 

The ministry attributed the jump partially to an increase in shipments of eco-friendly vehicles, which accounted for 30 percent of total car exports in the first half, up eight-point-three percentage points from a year earlier. 

In terms of volume, a total of one-point-07 million vehicles were shipped overseas during the cited period, up one-and-a-half percent from the previous year. It’s the best performance since the outbreak of COVID-19. 

For the month of June, however, auto exports slipped five-point-seven percent on-year to 173-thousand-61 units, with their value also sliding two-point-seven percent to three-point-94 billion dollars.