Jomyeongrae, Minister of Environment, "Opening the Era of 200,000 Cumulative Future Cars in 2020"

Plan to Distribute 84,000 Electric Vehicles and 12,000 Hydrogen Vehicles This Year
Reducing Diesel Freight Trucks, a Major Source of Fine Dust, and Promoting Electric Freight Trucks
Implementing Low Emission Vehicle Supply Target System... "Focusing on Expanding Supply Capacity"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The government is ushering in the era of 200,000 cumulative future vehicles (eco-friendly vehicles) in 2020. This year, it plans to distribute 84,150 electric vehicles and 10,280 hydrogen vehicles.

On the 9th, Cho Myung-rae, Minister of Environment, stated, "This year will mark the era of 200,000 future vehicles," adding, "We will actively replace vehicles with high fine dust emissions, such as diesel trucks, with future vehicles, and focus our efforts not only on increasing demand for future vehicles but also on expanding supply."

In this regard, Minister Cho will visit Hyundai Motor Company's future vehicle production site located in Yangjeong-dong, Buk-gu, Ulsan, on the afternoon of the 10th. He plans to inspect the future vehicle production site, encourage related personnel, and request efforts to ensure timely vehicle supply to achieve the target of 200,000 future vehicles in 2020.

By the end of last year, a total of approximately 113,000 future vehicles (including two-wheelers) had been distributed, and an additional 94,430 units are expected to be distributed this year.

Specifically, this year, 65,000 electric passenger cars, 7,500 electric trucks, 650 electric buses, and 11,000 electric two-wheelers will be distributed, totaling 84,150 electric vehicles. Additionally, 10,100 hydrogen passenger cars and 180 hydrogen buses will be distributed, totaling 10,280 hydrogen vehicles.

If the planned distribution of future vehicles proceeds smoothly this year, the era of 200,000 future vehicles will be realized by the end of the year.

In particular, the Ministry of Environment plans to focus its efforts on distributing electric trucks, which have a high effect on improving fine dust levels, starting this year. As of November last year, the number of registered trucks was 3.6 million, accounting for only 15% of all vehicles, but their fine dust emissions accounted for 56% of total vehicle emissions. One diesel truck (8.49 kg/year) emits about 10 times more fine dust than a passenger car (0.88 kg/year).

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Existing electric trucks were conversions of diesel engine vehicles, so their distribution had not been active. However, recently, fully completed electric trucks such as the Porter II EV and Bongo III EV have been released consecutively, activating distribution.

Furthermore, starting this year, the Ministry of Environment will actively promote not only demand policies such as purchase subsidies and charging infrastructure construction to revitalize future vehicle distribution but also supply policies such as the low-emission vehicle sales target system.

The low-emission vehicle sales target system is a policy that obliges automobile dealers to sell a certain portion of their annual total vehicle sales as low-emission vehicles.

According to the amended Air Quality Preservation Act in April last year, this system will be implemented nationwide starting this year. The Ministry of Environment plans to continuously improve and supplement the system by revising related laws to enhance its effectiveness.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.