Imported Electric Vehicles Gain Ground Over Domestic Models Amid Price Competition... Share Surges to 43% Last Year

Vehicle Registration Statistics for 2025 Released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

Last year, imported electric vehicles accounted for 43% of newly sold EVs, according to recent statistics. While imported cars make up less than 20% of all automobiles, there is a marked preference for foreign brands in the electric vehicle market.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's announcement on January 29, the number of newly registered electric vehicles last year reached 221,025 units. This represents an increase of more than 50% compared to 2024. After 164,519 units were sold in 2022 and two consecutive years of declining new registrations, the market rebounded sharply this year.

Of the newly registered electric vehicles last year, domestic models accounted for 126,078 units (57%), while imported models made up 94,947 units (43%). This is the first time the share of newly registered imported electric vehicles has exceeded 40%. The previous highs were around 36% in 2020 and 2024.

Transport vehicles are moving Teslas at Pyeongtaek Port. In front, Kia's new cars are waiting for export shipment. Yonhap News, Reuters

Looking at the monthly data, there were already frequent occasions when more imported electric vehicles were sold than domestic ones. In the fourth quarter of last year alone, imported EV sales reached 25,832 units, surpassing domestic EVs at 24,570 units. In December 2025, the share of imported electric vehicles rose to 75%, three times that of domestic models. Even considering that government subsidies for EVs tend to run out toward the end of the year, making purchases more difficult, the sales gap between domestic and imported models remains significant.

This trend is largely due to the increasing sales of Chinese electric vehicles, which have competitive pricing. The cumulative number of Teslas, imported from Chinese factories, reached 152,854 units by the end of last year, making Tesla the third most registered brand after Hyundai and Kia. This figure is up more than 60% from a year earlier. BYD, which began full-scale operations in Korea last year, registered 6,153 units in just one year, ranking 12th overall.

Meanwhile, the total number of newly registered vehicles last year was 1,695,353, a 3% increase from the previous year. Electric vehicles accounted for 13% of this total. The cumulative number of registered vehicles reached 26,514,873, an increase of nearly 1% over the same period. This equates to one car for every 1.93 people. The cumulative number of internal combustion engine vehicles dropped significantly, with diesel-powered cars falling to 22.84 million units, while eco-friendly vehicles such as hybrids, electric, and hydrogen cars totaled approximately 3.49 million units.

Bae Somyung, Director of the Automobile Operation and Insurance Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "Eco-friendly vehicles continue to grow, and in particular, the share of newly registered electric vehicles has increased significantly, confirming that demand for eco-friendly cars is both growing and diversifying."