50-Somethings Become Biggest Car Buyers
01 August, 2019
Motorists in their 50s were the biggest customer base for cars here in the first half of this year for the first time, overtaking customers in their prime.
People in their 30s and 40s kept their wallets shut amid a tough job market and dwindling disposable income.
According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association on Wednesday, people in their 50s bought 143,542 cars during the period, accounting for 19.7 percent.
For the first time they were ahead of those in their 40s, who took up 18.7 percent. The volume of purchases by those in their 30s and 40s dropped by 17.4 and 10.6 percent from a year ago.
This may signal a Japanese-style recession. KAMA president Jeong Man-ki said, "In Japan, due to high unemployment, young people did not spend money on cars, which led to decreased production and competitiveness of Japanese automakers. A similar thing seems to be happening in Korea."
Nascent car-sharing businesses like Socar are also keeping younger people from buying their own vehicles.
Meanwhile, some 70,065 units of eco-friendly cars such as hybrid, electric and hydrogen vehicles were sold, up two percent from a year ago to make up for 7.9 percent of the market.?
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