Ministry of Environment: "70% of Electric Vehicle Subsidies Remaining for General Public in Seoul and Busan"

Hyundai Ioniq

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The Ministry of Environment announced on the 1st that approximately 70% of the electric vehicle purchase subsidies allocated to the general public in Seoul and Busan remain unused.

According to the Ministry of Environment, as of this date, the remaining number of electric vehicle subsidies for the general public (excluding corporations, institutions, and priority groups) is 1,804 units (71%) in Seoul and 476 units (70%) in Busan, calculated by subtracting the number of applications from the announced quantity.

Currently, the number of electric vehicles announced for private purchase on the Low Emission Vehicle Integrated Website is about 50% of the total allocation in Seoul and about 70% in Busan.

This means that local governments have only announced the portion of the budget they secured in advance for this year's electric vehicle subsidies, leaving a significant amount unannounced.

Local governments plan to sequentially announce additional quantities within this year.

In other localities such as Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, and Daejeon, the remaining announced quantities are mostly above 90%, indicating ample availability.

However, as concerns about early depletion of subsidies continue to be raised, the Ministry of Environment stated that it will monitor the execution trend in the first half of the year and strive to secure additional quantities in the second half if necessary.

The total number of passenger cars for which the government and local governments have agreed to provide subsidies this year is approximately 70,000 units.

The Ioniq 5 saw over 35,000 pre-orders in just one week last month, raising concerns about early subsidy depletion. Subsidy applications for the Ioniq 5 will begin after the calculation is completed at the beginning of this month.

The Ministry of Environment explained that the quantities allocated to corporations and institutions can only be used from the third quarter, and those allocated to priority groups can only be used from the fourth quarter, without distinction from the general public.