Strong Growth of Eco-Friendly Cars in the First Half of the Year... Diesel Cars Decrease by 120,000 Units While Increasing by 250,000 Units

Eco-friendly Vehicles Total 1.84 Million Units... Market Share 7.1%
Imported Cars Share Continues to Rise from 8.4% to 12.7%

In the first half of this year, domestic internal combustion engine vehicles decreased by 872 units, while eco-friendly vehicles increased by 254,248 units. Imported cars further increased their market share after surpassing 3 million cumulative registrations at the end of last year.

View near Suwon Singal IC on Gyeongbu Expressway, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi / Photo by Yonhap News

On the 20th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that as of the first half of this year, the cumulative number of registered vehicles reached 25,757,201 units, an increase of 1.0% (254,123 units) compared to the end of the previous year. This means there is one car for every 1.99 people.

By origin, domestic cars accounted for 22,475,625 units (87.3%), and imported cars accounted for 3,281,576 units (12.7%). The market share of imported cars has steadily expanded from 8.4% in 2017 to over 10% in 2019, 11.0% in 2020, 11.8% in 2021, and 12.5% in 2022.

The proportion of eco-friendly vehicles (electric, hydrogen, hybrid) has been increasing every year. The share of eco-friendly vehicles, which was only 2% of the total registered vehicles in 2018, rose to 2.5% in 2019, 3.4% in 2020, 4.7% in 2021, and 6.2% in 2022. Additionally, in the first six months of this year, they increased by 254,248 units (16.0%), reaching a cumulative total of 1,844,233 units, accounting for 7.1% of the total.

Specifically, electric vehicles reached a cumulative 464,928 units, increasing by 75,073 units (19.3%) over six months, hybrids reached 1,346,821 units, increasing by 176,314 units (15.1%) during the same period, and hydrogen vehicles totaled 32,484 units, increasing by 2,861 units (9.7%).

Among electric vehicles, domestic brands hold 75.1% of the market, while imported brands hold 24.9%. By region, Gyeonggi (93,995 units), Seoul (65,614 units), and Jeju (36,262 units) had the highest numbers.

By manufacturer, Hyundai Motor Company led with 203,973 units (43.9%), followed by Kia with 127,815 units (27.5%), Tesla with 50,962 units (11.0%), and GM Korea with 14,709 units (3.2%).

While eco-friendly vehicles increased, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles decreased by 126,921 units (1.3%) and 37,242 units (2.0%) respectively in the first half of the year. In contrast, gasoline vehicles increased by 163,291 units (1.4%) compared to the end of last year.

Meanwhile, newly registered vehicles in the first half of this year totaled 918,385 units, with domestic cars accounting for 777,586 units (84.7%) and imported cars 140,799 units (15.3%). The market share of domestic cars increased by 4.1 percentage points compared to the end of last year.

Im Wol-si, Director of the Vehicle Operation and Insurance Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "Vehicles using diesel and LPG fuels are decreasing, while eco-friendly vehicles are increasing. We will continue to provide detailed and customized statistics by segmenting vehicle registration data to enable the establishment and implementation of automobile policies that align with market trends and changes in the times."