One in Two Citizens Owns a Car... Eco-Friendly Vehicles Surpass 600,000 Units

▲ Status of Domestic and Imported Vehicle Registrations as of the End of 2019 (Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] It has been revealed that one out of every two people in South Korea owns a car. The market share of imported cars has exceeded 10%, and eco-friendly vehicles such as electric, hydrogen, and hybrid cars have surpassed 600,000 units.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 16th, as of the end of December last year, the number of registered vehicles in South Korea was 23,677,366. This is an increase of 2.0% (475,000 units) compared to the end of the previous year. This means there is one car for every 2.19 people.

In particular, the proportion of imported cars has continuously increased, surpassing 10%. The market share of imported cars, which first exceeded 5% at the end of 2014, reached 10.2% (2,414,187 units) as of the end of last year.

Eco-friendly vehicles have also steadily increased, supported by government policies to expand their distribution and changes in public awareness regarding air quality. As of the end of last year, the total number of registered eco-friendly vehicles nationwide was 601,048, a 30.2% (139,315 units) increase from 461,733 units at the end of the previous year. During the same period, their share of the total vehicles increased from 2.0% to 2.5%.

Hydrogen cars, which numbered only 29 at the end of 2015, have now increased to 5,083 units. During the same period, electric cars grew from 5,712 to 89,918 units, a 15.7-fold increase, and hybrid cars rose from 174,620 to 506,047 units, nearly tripling.

By region, Gyeonggi had the highest number of registered vehicles at 5,765,692 units (24.4%), followed by Seoul with 3,124,157 units (13.2%), Gyeongnam with 1,721,503 units (7.3%), and Incheon with 1,635,323 units (6.9%).

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport forecasted that although the overall growth rate of vehicle registrations has slightly declined since 2015, the trend will continue due to the normalization of 2-3 vehicles per single-person household and the increase in single-person households.

Lee Joong-ki, Director of the Automobile Operation and Insurance Division at the Ministry, stated, “With growing interest in environmental issues and the expansion of the sharing economy, which is a major trend in the future market, consumer awareness regarding automobiles is changing. We will continue to provide customized statistics that the public desires and actively reflect them in automobile policy formulation.”

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