This photo provided by Hyundai Motor shows its Porter II Electric truck.
SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s best-selling electric vehicle (EV) in the first half of this year was not a model from U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc.
According to data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, the best-selling EV was Hyundai Motor Co.’s Porter II Electric truck, with 8,554 units sold in the first half of this year.
This figure is far higher than the Tesla’s Model 3 (6,275 units), which ranked first in the same period last year.
The Kia Corp.’s Bongo III EV truck ranked fourth with 5,250 units sold, slightly behind the Tesla’s Model Y (5,316 units).
Sales of the Porter II Electric and Bongo III EV marked remarkable growth of 148 percent and 234 percent, respectively, compared to a year ago.
The primary factor behind the surge in sales of the Porter II Electric and Bongo III EV is the government’s incentive with respect to commercial license plate numbers.
Starting from 2018, the government capped the total number of new registrations for commercial license plates of internal combustion vehicles, while issuing such plates for free to electric trucks.
At present, the market price of such plates is estimated at about 29 million won. When buying electric trucks, drivers can acquire the plates for free.
However, as the incentive system is set to expire in April next year, there has been a surge in demand to buy while the discount is still valid.
Another factor is the generous amount of EV subsidies. The selling price of the new Porter II Electric ranges between 40.60 million won (US$35,370) and 44.24 million won. In Seoul, a 24 million won subsidy is given to those who buy the Porter II Electric.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
