"Eco-friendly Car” Sales Exceed 1 million in Korea

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Minister Roh, Hyung-wook) said that the number of registered cars (accumulated) increased by 61,000 units (0.25%) in July 2021, compared to the previous month, and increased by 340,000 units (1.4%) compared to the end of 2020 (24,366,000 units)

New registration of eco-friendly cars (electric, hydrogen, and hybrid cars) increased 3.1 percent from the previous month, with accumulative registration exceeding 1 million (1,004,000 units). Gasoline car sales increased 0.3 percent and diesel and LPG cars decreased 0.04 percent.

In the case of electric cars, amid the government's efforts to expand the supply of eco-friendly cars and the public's high interest, the number of electric cars doubled from 90,000 units at the end of 2019 to 18.1 million units in a year and a half.

By region, a large number of electric vehicles (84,407 units) were registered in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Jeju Island (46.6 percent), followed by a 10.9% increase in Chungcheongnam-do, 8.4% in Incheon, 8.3% in Chungcheongbuk-do, and 7.1 % in North Jeolla Province.

The cumulative registration share by production companies was in the order of Hyundai Motor (44.6%), Kia (20.3%), and Tesla (14.8%), followed by domestic production disruptions due to the supply and demand of vehicle semiconductors (April ~ May) and Tesla's intensive imports in the first half of the year.

The age of the electric car buyers was mostly in their 40s and 50s, taking 57%, followed by the 60s and 30s with the purchase of electric cars (70%) of individual names, and 30% of them were owned by the corporation.

Also, the new registered EV (47,508 cars) model from January to July 2021 showed the order of Porter II (cargo, 9,793 units), IONIQ 5 (8,628 units), Tesla model 3 (6,291 units), and Bongo III (cargo, 6,047 units).

"In line with the growing public interest in climate change and the government's carbon-neutral policy, eco-friendly vehicles such as EV and hydrogen-fueled vehicles are increasing," "We will continue to make efforts to systematically manage automobile statistics and provide customized statistics in line with these trends and changes in the market," said Kim-Jung hee, Deputy director-general of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport.

Reported by Smart City Today