One in 10 Cars on the Road is Eco-Friendly... Over 2 Million Hybrid Vehicles

Status of Vehicle Registration Last Year Announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
Eco-friendly vehicles now account for over 10% of all registered cars
Hybrid vehicles drive rapid growth in green car adoption

The number of eco-friendly vehicles registered domestically has approached 2.75 million. This accounts for about 1 in 10 of all registered vehicles.

According to the vehicle registration status as of the end of last year, announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 22nd, electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles totaled 2,746,000 units, an increase of about 626,000 units over the past year. Considering that the total number of registered vehicles in the country is 26,298,000, eco-friendly vehicles account for 10.4%.

The share of eco-friendly vehicles increased from around 2.5% in 2019 to 3.4% in the following year, and about 4.7% in 2021, rising by about 1 percentage point each year. Then, it accelerated to 6.2% in 2022, 8.2% in 2023, and exceeded 10% last year.

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The acceleration in growth is largely due to increased demand for hybrids. The share of hybrids among all vehicles rose from 4.2% in 2022 to 5.9% in 2023, and 7.7% last year. Of the 1,646,000 newly registered vehicles last year, eco-friendly vehicles accounted for 40%.

Although there was a slight slowdown, steady new model releases have maintained demand for battery electric vehicles, and the number of people seeking hybrids has increased due to fuel efficiency and other reasons, leading to the expansion of eco-friendly vehicle adoption. By fuel type, the total number of diesel vehicles registered decreased by 4.2% last year, and overall internal combustion engine vehicles declined by 1.2%.

Baek So-myung, Director of the Vehicle Operation and Insurance Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, explained, "The increase in eco-friendly vehicles is clear, and especially hybrid vehicles have significantly increased across all types including passenger cars, confirming the growth and diversification of eco-friendly vehicle demand."

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Among the electric vehicles newly registered last year, domestically produced vehicles accounted for 63.9%. This is about 7 percentage points lower than 70.8% in 2023. The share of domestic vehicles among new electric vehicles had consistently been above 70% for the past three years but dropped to the lowest level ever last year.

Among all registered electric vehicles, the brand with the largest share was Hyundai Motor Company at 39.3%. Kia followed with 27.8%, Tesla with 13.6%, BMW with 3.3%, and Mercedes-Benz with 3.0%.

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