Electrification Led by Buses and Trucks? Passenger Electric Vehicle Share Hits Year-Round Low

The proportion of newly registered passenger electric vehicles (EVs) in South Korea last month fell to the lowest level of the year. While the electrification trend is accelerating both domestically and internationally, and major manufacturers are consecutively launching new electric models, the results have been underwhelming. On the other hand, demand for electrification of trucks and buses remained steady. There are observations that trucks and buses are leading the electrification transition in the domestic automotive market.

According to the data on new registrations released on the 18th by the Korea Automobile Mobility Industry Association, out of the total 144,981 vehicles sold last month, 14,606 were electric vehicles (based on battery electric vehicles, excluding hybrids and hydrogen vehicles). This means that 1 out of every 10 vehicles sold was an electric vehicle.

Electric vehicle charging. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Looking at the breakdown by vehicle type, there are differences in trends. Passenger electric vehicles sold 8,779 units last month, marking the lowest level since March this year. The share of passenger EVs among all electric vehicles was over 9% until March but dropped to 7.2% last month, showing a steady decline throughout the year. Typically, EV demand is low at the beginning of the year when subsidies are not finalized or at the end of the year when subsidies are exhausted, but it is rare to see demand decrease like this during the middle of the year without subsidy issues. This indicates that both domestic manufacturers and imported brands, despite launching various new models since last year, have not fully benefited from the new car effect.

In contrast, the share of electric trucks continues to soar. After reaching a yearly high of 32.0% in March, it has consistently maintained a share around 20%. Although the total volume is not large, electric buses and other commercial vehicles also have an EV share of around 10%, which is higher than that of passenger cars.

This is the result of steady sales of domestic 1-ton trucks like the Porter and Bongo electric models, as well as relatively inexpensive Chinese-made commercial vehicles. Last month, 14,335 Porter and Bongo trucks were sold domestically, with electric vehicles accounting for 33% of that number. The best-selling imported commercial vehicle last month was also the electric cargo van Seia from Chinese automaker Geely Automobile.

Industry insiders analyze that passenger EVs, which have been widely sold mainly to early adopters, have now reached a 'sales cliff' as demand has been largely fulfilled. This means that most consumers who intended to purchase EVs have already done so. Additionally, factors such as reduced subsidies per vehicle, increased prices of new EVs due to rising battery raw material costs, and the increased burden of purchase are cited. Contrary to presidential pledges, the rise in EV charging costs is also a factor discouraging purchases.

An industry official said, "Due to the charging infrastructure and high prices, it will inevitably take more time for EVs to become mainstream," adding, "Tesla's successive price cuts both domestically and internationally, as well as various EV manufacturers announcing half-price EV launches, reflect the judgment that lowering purchase costs is more important to increase market share."

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