Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle Parts to Decrease to 500 by 2030...Urgent Need to Train Future Vehicle Technology Workforce (Comprehensive)

Automobile Research Institute: "40,000 More Personnel Needed for Korea's Eco-Friendly Vehicles by 2028"

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] It is projected that by 2030, the number of internal combustion engine (ICE) parts companies will decrease by about 500, and approximately 40,000 additional skilled workers in the future car industry will be needed within six years. As the supply chain and workforce structure of the automotive industry are expected to change rapidly, urgent measures are required.

On the 8th, the Korea Automotive Research Institute released a report prepared by the Automotive Industry Human Resources Development Committee titled "The Impact of Future Car Industry Transition on Employment."

The report estimated that global sales of eco-friendly vehicles (hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric, hydrogen cars) will grow from about 13.8 million units this year to 57.7 million units by 2030. Notably, global electric vehicle sales surged by approximately 112% year-on-year to 5.4 million units last year, showing rapid growth, and are expected to reach 28.5 million units by 2030.

With accelerated development of autonomous vehicles, the global autonomous vehicle market is expected to maintain an annual growth rate exceeding 40%, expanding from $6.4 billion in 2020 to $1.1204 trillion by 2035. Approximately 160 million autonomous vehicles are projected to be sold worldwide by 2030.

The domestic autonomous vehicle market size is also expected to grow at an annual rate of over 40%, increasing from 150.9 billion KRW in 2020 to 26.1794 trillion KRW by 2035.

However, the localization rate and technological level of future car parts in the domestic parts industry are significantly lower compared to internal combustion engine vehicles. The localization rate for ICE parts is 95%, but for electric vehicle parts it is 68%, hydrogen vehicles 71%, and autonomous driving software only 38%. The technological level stands at 78.8% compared to advanced countries.

Furthermore, while the number of ICE parts companies is expected to decrease by about 500 by 2030, the number of electric and electronic parts companies and hydrogen vehicle parts companies is expected to increase by 350 and 400, respectively.

Accordingly, the report analyzed that securing electrical and electronic engineers and software specialists will determine the competitiveness of the future mobility industry market. The United States has already increased its workforce in eco-friendly vehicles, including electric cars, to 274,000 by 2020, and Japan's Toyota has secured 18,000 software specialists by filling over 40% of new hires with software experts starting this year.

On the 17th, visitors attending 'InterBattery 2022' held at COEX in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, are examining a POSCO battery pack model for electric vehicles made with composite materials at the POSCO Chemical exhibition hall. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

As of 2018, South Korea's workforce related to eco-friendly vehicles totaled 42,443, autonomous vehicles 5,021, and infrastructure-related personnel 3,068, amounting to a total of 50,532. The number of software personnel is only 1,000.

The report stated that 46.8% of parts companies and 47.4% of employment were classified as groups requiring business restructuring during the transition to future vehicles, diagnosing that domestic companies are facing difficulties due to a shortage of specialized personnel in the development of future vehicle technologies.

Although South Korea's future car industry technical workforce is increasing at an average annual rate of about 74.7%, considering that the demand for personnel will reach 89,069 by 2028 (Green Car 71,935, Smart Car 11,603, Infrastructure 5,531), an additional 38,537 future car workers will be needed compared to now.

The report emphasized the need to stably promote policies such as training new master's and doctoral-level personnel related to future car control and software, and nurturing 90,000 talents in new growth industries, to secure a large-scale specialized workforce for future cars within a short period.

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