One in every 20 cars sold domestically is an electric vehicle, "The share is growing steadily"

Electric Vehicle Sales Share in March Hits Record High of 4.9%

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] It has been revealed that one out of every 20 cars sold in the domestic automobile market last March was an electric vehicle (EV). The proportion of EVs among total vehicle sales also reached an all-time high.

According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) and Hana Financial Investment on the 7th, 8,533 EVs were sold domestically last March, marking the highest monthly figure ever. The previous record was 6,651 units recorded in September last year.

Compared to 6,731 units sold in the same period last year, sales increased by 26.7%, and compared to 3,865 units in the previous month, sales surged by 120.7%. The share of EVs in domestic car sales in March also reached a record high of 4.9%.

The significant increase in EV sales in March was largely due to growing public interest in eco-friendly vehicles and the government's subsidies being actively implemented from March.

By model, Tesla's sales were overwhelming. Based on passenger EVs, Tesla sold 3,186 units in March, ranking first, followed by Kona EV with 809 units, Niro EV with 590 units, Chevrolet Spark EV (Sevo-C) with 119 units, and Zoe with 118 units. The rest were mostly commercial vehicles such as Porter EV and Bongo EV.

Domestic EV sales are on a steadily increasing trend. Annually, sales rose from 29,441 units in 2018 to 43,182 units last year. The total EV sales in the first quarter of this year also increased by 15% year-on-year to 12,611 units.

This year, with the mass release of domestic EVs such as Hyundai Ioniq 5, Genesis EV, and Kia EV6, sales are expected to increase significantly compared to last year. Market research firm SNE Research analyzed that EV demand will continue to grow at an average annual rate of 19%, accounting for 30% of the automobile market by 2030, ten years from now.

The problem lies in EV-related infrastructure. While consumer interest in EVs is rapidly increasing, there are several obstacles including insufficient charging stations, subsidies, and taxes.

In particular, expanding charging infrastructure is urgent. As of the end of last year, the number of EV chargers installed nationwide was 64,188, a 4.3-fold increase compared to 2017, whereas the number of EVs increased 5.5 times from 24,907 to 137,636 during the same period. The number of EV chargers per EV is expected to decrease from 0.46 at the end of last year to 0.41 by the end of this year.

There is also the issue of depletion of EV subsidies. Last year, EV subsidies ran out early around September to October, causing a sharp drop in EV sales, and this phenomenon is likely to occur again this year.

Lee Ho, a senior researcher at the Korea Automotive Technology Institute, analyzed, "In Korea, while EVs are rapidly spreading, the expansion of infrastructure is somewhat delayed."

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