[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Last year, the domestic eco-friendly vehicle market grew to its largest scale ever. By vehicle type, hybrid vehicles led the growth, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles also made significant advances, expanding the market share.
According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association on the 2nd, eco-friendly vehicle sales last year recorded 110,219 units, an 18.5% increase compared to the previous year. It was the first time the domestic eco-friendly vehicle market exceeded 100,000 units, marking the largest sales volume ever.
By vehicle type, hybrid vehicles grew to a 70,000-unit market, recording 75,966 units, a 22.3% increase from the previous year. In particular, the strong performance of popular models such as the Grandeur Hybrid and Sonata Hybrid was effective.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, which had only sold 744 units until 2018, contributed to market expansion by selling more than 4,000 units last year. Sales of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles increased by 463% year-on-year to 4,194 units last year. This reflects the effects of various supports, including the government increasing the hydrogen vehicle budget in the supplementary budget in the second half of last year.
Electric vehicles, which are heavily influenced by subsidies, increased by 0.8% year-on-year, recording a performance similar to 2018 (29,441 units). Domestic electric vehicle sales last year totaled 29,683 units. Meanwhile, plug-in hybrids, limited by the government’s purchase subsidy cap of 300 units last year, saw sales decrease by 48% year-on-year to 376 units.
Meanwhile, exports of eco-friendly vehicles produced domestically also increased rapidly last year. Domestic eco-friendly vehicle exports last year recorded 258,937 units, a 31% increase compared to the previous year.
Hybrid vehicles accounted for the largest share with 150,615 units, a 9% increase, while electric vehicle exports surged by 97% to 76,099 units. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle exports increased more than threefold from 227 units in 2018 to 788 units last year.
By detailed model, the Ioniq Hybrid ranked first in eco-friendly vehicle exports, and the Kona Electric ranked second, confirming their popularity in the European and North American markets.
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