The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport is planning to benchmark European standards, which have been praised for their various classifications and flexibility in applying them to new and diverse cars. (image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)
SEJONG, Feb. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – Korean vehicle classification, which previously fell into categories such as small, medium or full-sized according to engine displacement and size, will undergo changes for the first time in 30 years.
Technological advancements have brought new and diverse cars into the market, such as eco-friendly cars and micro compact cars, and it is to provide the groundwork for cars to be run without any institutional limitations that these changes will be made.
The classification of cars that Hyundai Motors established in 1987 is a simple categorization only taking the engine displacement and size into consideration. Therefore, problems arise in the fact that new types of cars that do not fit the conventional categorization are unable to be approved for road use.
“Twizy”, a one or two-seat micro compact electric car from Renault Samsung is a case in point. Because it didn’t fit into the existing car classification scheme, the vehicle’s first trial run in 2015 was cancelled and only once the Automobile Management Act enforcement regulations were amended could it approved for road use, which took more than a year.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport is planning to benchmark European standards, which have been praised for their various classifications and flexibility in applying them to new and diverse cars. European standards allow cars to be approved for road use as soon as possible by adding additional classifications for newly released cars without any onerous procedures.
By M.H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
