South Korea's exports of eco-friendly cars have soared by more than 40 percent this year on the back of the popularity of subcompact SUVs.

According to the data by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association on Sunday, local automakers shipped about 181-thousand eco-friendly autos, such as electric vehicles (EVs), during the January-September period, up 41-point-eight percent from a year earlier.

In September, the combined exports jumped 82-point-seven percent on-year to 24-thousand-800 units.

Exports of hybrid cars increased by 15-point-one percent to around 110-thousand cars this year, while those of electric cars soared over 144 percent to some 49-thousand vehicles.

Eco-friendly cars accounted for ten-point-two percent of all auto exports during the first nine months of the year, compared to eight percent for the whole 2018.