South Korean car makers are having a tough time at home and abroad with domestic output and exports both down.

According to data by the Bank of Korea and Statistics Korea on Saturday, auto production in March fell 12 and a half percent from a year ago.

Exports of South Korean cars dropped eight-point-six percent in April year-on-year.

Korean consumers reportedly prefer imported car brands of late, and stiff competition as well as a weakened Japanese yen have put a dent in the overseas competitiveness of Korean vehicles.

According to the Hyundai Research Institute, a local think tank, the share of foreign cars in the domestic market shot up from under seven percent in 2010 to over 15 percent last year.

Meanwhile, the share of South Korean vehicles in the U.S., one of Korea's largest export market, is believed to have edged down from eight percent in 2016 to seven-point-five last year.