With more EV (Electric Vehicle) choices and government subsidies, the age of electric cars is on its way in Korea. (image: Kobizmedia)
SEOUL, Korea, Mar 27 (Korea Bizwire) – The age of electric cars is on its way. More EV (Electric Vehicle) choices have become available; government subsidies have been increased; and more charging stations are being established.
Last year, about 715 EVs are sold in Korea. In 2014, more than 1,200 EVs are estimated to be sold owing to the increase in government subsidies.
As of this year, a subsidy given to an EV is around 20 million to 24 million won in total. The Ministry of Environment provides 15 million won and the local government provides 5 million to 9 million won. If an average subsidy of 23 million won is given, an electric car which costs 40 million won can be purchased under 20 million won.
There are more government benefits other than the subsidies. The Ministry of Environment will supply a slow EV charger for each buyer until the end of this year. The charger can be installed in either family homes to create private charging stations or parking lots for apartment buildings after getting the neighbors’ approval.
The buyers will also receive tax relief of their purchases. If one buys an electric car, an excise tax benefit within 1.4 million won will be given. Also, the buyer does not need to obtain bonds which are usually mandatory upon car purchase.
However, the biggest change from the previous year would be the greater varieties in choices. Domestic and foreign automobile companies are competitively introducing new electric car models to Korean market.
Currently, the EV makers are targeting Jeju Island. Jeju is the best place to drive an electric car which can travel the whole island in fewer than 150 km in one charge. The infrastructure for EV in Jeju is relatively sound with 500 charging stations all around the island. For these reasons, the first “International EV Expo” was held in Jeju from March 15 to 21.
Although the competition among manufacturers is heating up the EV market, there remain certain problems. The number one priority is to increase the size of government subsidies. For now the Ministry of Environment and local governments cannot support all EV buyers due to limited budgets. Nationwide infrastructure for EVs has to be improved as well. There are 1,962 charging stations for EVs all around the country, which is simply not enough.
It is especially hard to find a charging station along the highways making it almost impossible to travel outside town by electric cars.
An official at Hyundai Motor said, “We plan to come up with EV batteries with various capacities for people who want to travel hundreds of kilometers by their EVs even though 80 percent of EV drivers travel less than 50 km each day.”
Written by Robin Koo (linguistkoo@koreabizwire.com)
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