South Korea's automobile production grew 3.4 percent in the first half of this year due to brisk exports that offset sluggish domestic demand, a government report showed Tuesday.

Auto production by the nation's five carmakers, including Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors and Ssanyong Motor, reached 2,380,782 vehicles during the January-June period, up 3.4 percent over the same period of last year, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.

The production growth was mainly attributed to strong overseas demand for locally-manufactured cars. The nation's five carmakers shipped a total of 1,700,364 vehicles in the first half, up 10.4 percent from a year earlier.

Despite growing uncertainties over the global economy, the country's auto exports soared in the first half thanks to an expansion in exports to the United States and the European Union (EU).

The ministry noted the recovery in the U.S. auto market and the positive effect from the (South) Korea-EU free trade agreement contributed to brisk car exports, saying that continued quality enhancement of domestic models raised the auto export value.

Meanwhile, domestic auto sales contracted 4.2 percent on-year to 757,353 units in the first half due to lack of new models and weak consumer confidence amid high oil prices, the ministry said.

Domestic sales by local carmakers retreated 6 percent in the first half from a year before, but imported car sales jumped 20.5 percent on-year to reach a record high of 62,239 units during the January-June period.