'Trend is Trend'... Kia, 1 in 3 Cars Sold in March Are 'Eco-Friendly Vehicles' (Comprehensive)

Last Month, 3 out of 10 Newly Registered Vehicles in Korea Were Eco-Friendly Cars
Kia Dominates with 40% of Cargo Trucks Being Electric Vehicles
In Q1, 1 in 5 Cars Sold by Hyundai and Kia Were Eco-Friendly Vehicles

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Last month, eco-friendly vehicles accounted for about 3 out of every 10 newly registered cars in South Korea. This is attributed to the continued popularity of hybrids due to high oil prices and the increasing variety of pure electric vehicle models. Notably, Kia filled about 40% of its newly registered trucks with electric vehicles, with eco-friendly cars making up one-third of its total new registrations.

According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association on the 20th, a total of 143,969 vehicles (including vans, trucks, and special vehicles) were newly registered last month. By fuel type, eco-friendly vehicles such as hybrids, electric cars, and hydrogen cars totaled 42,835 units, accounting for 29.8%. A month earlier, in February, 28,833 eco-friendly vehicles were newly registered, making up about 25.2%.

Due to supply issues with parts like automotive semiconductors and wiring harnesses, the production of finished vehicles has been disrupted, causing prolonged delays in new car deliveries. However, sales of eco-friendly vehicles have continued to steadily grow this year.

By manufacturer, Hyundai Motor Company sold 55,155 vehicles last month, of which 12,884 were eco-friendly, accounting for 23.4%. Kia, a group affiliate, sold 45,583 vehicles, about 10,000 fewer than Hyundai, but had more eco-friendly vehicles at 15,354 units. Kia’s eco-friendly vehicle share reached 33.7%, meaning one out of every three newly sold vehicles was eco-friendly. By vehicle type, passenger cars accounted for 13,032 units and trucks for 2,322 units.

Among Kia’s passenger cars, eco-friendly models include hybrid versions of the Sorento and Sportage, dedicated electric vehicles like the EV6, the Niro electric vehicle, and hybrid sedans such as the K5 and K8. For trucks, there is the Bongo EV. The eco-friendly vehicle share among Kia’s trucks reached 40.9%. The industry reports that demand is surging ahead of the scheduled expiration at the end of this month of the free issuance benefit for commercial license plates for electric trucks. Kia’s eco-friendly vehicle share was 33.4% in February as well, indicating this is not a one-time performance. Considering Hyundai offers 12 eco-friendly models (including Genesis) compared to Kia’s 9, Kia’s results stand out.

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia, Total Domestic Eco-Friendly Vehicle Sales of 64,417 Units in Q1... Share at 30%

Excluding Hyundai and Kia, other domestic automakers had either no or very few newly registered eco-friendly vehicles. SsangYong Motor’s first electric vehicle, the Korando e-Motion, began customer deliveries last month, with eco-friendly vehicles accounting for 1.3%. Korea GM and Renault Korea Motors had no newly registered hybrid or electric vehicles.

Among imported cars, eco-friendly vehicles accounted for 13,874 units (48.5%) out of 28,624 newly registered vehicles, nearly half. However, a significant portion of imported hybrids includes mild hybrids, which have a relatively smaller electric motor role compared to conventional hybrids. Mild hybrids are commonly used by European manufacturers and are not officially classified as eco-friendly vehicles in Korea, but due to the lack of detailed criteria in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s registration statistics, they are included under hybrids.

Meanwhile, in the first quarter of this year, one out of every five Hyundai and Kia vehicles sold domestically was eco-friendly. Hyundai showed notable growth in electric vehicle sales, while Kia’s hybrid models maintained steady popularity.

According to Hyundai and Kia’s performance reports, the total number of hybrid and electric vehicles sold by the two companies from January to March this year was 64,417 units, accounting for 23.5% of total domestic sales (273,762 units). This is a 9.4 percentage point increase from the 14.1% eco-friendly vehicle share (44,574 units) in the first quarter of last year, and higher than last year’s overall eco-friendly vehicle share of 18.2%.

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