Automobile Industry: "NDC Zero-Emission Vehicle Target Is Excessive... 5.5?6.5 Million Units Is Reasonable"

Korea Automobile Mobility Industry Association Submits Recommendation to Government

The automobile industry has recommended that the government establish a realistic target for the distribution of zero-emission vehicles under the '2035 National Greenhouse Gas Reduction Target (NDC)' that the industrial ecosystem can actually sustain.

The Korea Automobile Mobility Industry Association announced on September 30 that, together with 11 affiliated automobile organizations, it had submitted a written recommendation containing this message to the Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth Commission, as well as to the government and the National Assembly.

In the recommendation, the organizations stated, "The government's distribution target was analyzed as a scenario that would ban the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles in Korea before 2035." They expressed concern that "an unrealistic distribution target and a rapid transition to electrification could lead to side effects such as restructuring of the parts industry centered on internal combustion engines, workforce reductions, accelerated dependence on the Chinese electric vehicle industry, and the encroachment of Chinese-made electric vehicles into the domestic market."

They further added, "Major countries and global companies are responding to the Chinese electric vehicle industry, recent market conditions, and are pursuing measures such as adjusting the pace of electric vehicle adoption and easing regulations. This global trend must also be taken into account."

The association maintains that realistic distribution targets must be established, along with strong demand creation policies. They argued, "Considering current distribution trends, the government subsidy budget, and industry sales plans, the realistically achievable distribution target is between 5.5 million and 6.5 million units."

The government has previously presented a distribution target of 8.4 million to 9.8 million units in its scenario for zero-emission vehicle adoption under the '2035 NDC.'

Additionally, the organizations proposed that, along with demand creation policies, it is necessary to set greenhouse gas reduction targets that take into account the discovery of various reduction measures in the transportation sector and technological neutrality.

Kang Namhoon, president of the association, emphasized, "The target for eco-friendly vehicle adoption is not just a number; it is a critical issue that brings fundamental changes to the domestic industrial ecosystem centered on internal combustion engines. Therefore, in the process of setting targets, in-depth discussions with the automobile industry are necessary." He also stressed, "Extraordinary policy support, such as the introduction of a production promotion tax system, must come first to ensure that electric vehicles produced domestically can be distributed through an efficient transition to electrification in the automobile industry ecosystem."

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