Electric vehicles in S.Korea beat diesel cars in sales

Diesel vehicle sales in 2022 fell 19.8% due to the sharp rise in the prices of their fuel

Kia's electric vehicles EV6
Kia's electric vehicles EV6
Han-Shin Park 1
2023-02-10 11:25:17 phs@hankyung.com
Automobiles

Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in South Korea last year including hybrids surpassed those of diesel cars for the first time due to the price of diesel fuel being higher than that of gasoline and the expansion of EV infrastructure in the country.

Pure EVs also accounted for 9.8% of all new car registrations last year.

The Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association on Thursday said sales of gas-powered vehicles last year decreased 5.4% and those of diesel cars 19.8% from 2021, while EVs saw sales growth of 28.7%. Last year, EV sales reached 448,934 units, surpassing diesel vehicles with 333,522 for the first time.

Diesel vehicles saw 415,925 units newly registered in 2021, but their sales volume saw a major drop last year given the growing preference for eco-friendly vehicles and the soaring price of diesel fuel.

By type of EV power source, hybrids including plug-ins saw the most sales among EVs with 274,282 units. Pure battery EVs, aka BEVs, also sold 164,324 units, raising their share in the domestic car market to 9.8% and enjoying sales growth of 63.7% from 100,355 in 2021.

CarlsYou Data Research Center said the cumulative number of EVs running in Korea as of December last year was 303,281, exceeding 300,000 for the first time. Last year, the top three players on the domestic passenger EV market were Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp. and Tesla.

The Kia EV6 was the nation's bestselling personal EV based on the number of individual registrations with 13,748 units, with Hyundai Motor's IONIQ 5 second with 11,798 and IONIQ 6 third with 6,041. Tesla sold 5,362 units of its Model 3 and 5,228 of its Model Y.

Write to Han-Shin Park at phs@hankyung.com

Hyundai GV70 EV to be eligible for US subsidy after classification as SUV

Hyundai GV70 EV to be eligible for US subsidy after classification as SUV

Hyundai's GV70 EV model The sport-utility vehicle (SUV) Hyundai Genesis GV70 electric vehicle in the first half of the year is expected to be eligible for subsidies in the American market under the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).The model is highly likely to be classified as an SUV rather tha

Korea’s new EV subsidy plan favors Hyundai over Tesla, other imports

Korea’s new EV subsidy plan favors Hyundai over Tesla, other imports

EV chargers South Korea is revising its electric vehicle subsidy plan in a way that favors local cars such as the Hyundai IONIQ 6 over imported vehicles, including the Tesla Model 3, to address discrepancies in tax benefits granted by US and Chinese governments in their countries.According to t

Hyundai, Kia vow to crack Japan-dominated SE Asian market with EVs

Hyundai, Kia vow to crack Japan-dominated SE Asian market with EVs

The Hyundai Creta produced in Indonesia For more than four decades, Japanese automakers, led by Toyota Motor Corp., have reigned as undisputed champions in the Southeast Asian auto market with their names on nine of every 10 passenger cars sold.Alongside Chinese carmakers armed with budget ve

Kia to break ground on new Korean EV plant in March

Kia to break ground on new Korean EV plant in March

Kia’s Hwaseong complex in South Korea where the company plans to build its electric PBV plant Kia Corp., South Korea’s No. 2 automaker, is set to break ground in March on a domestic factory to produce electric purpose-built vehicles (PBVs), a booster for future growth, as it reached

Hyundai Motor to boost EV leasing in US for tax credits from 2023

Hyundai Motor to boost EV leasing in US for tax credits from 2023

Hyundai Motor's electric vehicles at the Ulsan plant (Courtesy of Hyundai Motor) South Korean electric vehicles for lease are forecast to receive US tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as new guidelines of the law, released on Dec. 29, expand the list of cars that qualify for th

(* comment hide *}