Diesel cars are at the center of attention in Korea with the ongoing investigation into Audi-Volkswagen’s emissions scandal, and the government’s recent labelling of diesel vehicles as major producers of fine dust. (image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, June 24 (Korea Bizwire) – Diesel cars are at the center of attention in Korea with the ongoing investigation into Audi-Volkswagen’s emissions scandal, and the government’s recent labelling of diesel vehicles as major producers of fine dust, which has become dangerously prevalent in recent years.
In a recent study conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, South Jeolla Province turned out to have the highest percentage of registered diesel vehicles, whereas Jeju Island showed the highest percentage of registered eco-friendly cars.
As of the of 2015, 49.4 percent of the registered vehicles in South Jeolla Province were diesel cars, a total of 443,126 out of 897,665, followed by Gangwon Province (46.5 percent) and South Chungcheong Province (46.2 percent).
The local government with the lowest percentage of registered diesel vehicles was Seoul with 34.9 percent. Seoul had a total of 1,066,199 registered vehicles, second to Gyeonggi Province with 2,030,612.
Other cities with a relatively low percentage of diesel vehicles included Daejeon (37.0 percent), Daegu (37.9 percent), Busan (38.4 percent), Gwangju (38.6 percent), and Ulsan (39.4 percent).
Jeju Island had the highest percentage of registered eco-friendly cars, including hybrid and electric vehicles, with 1.5 percent. More importantly, Jeju Island accounted for 41.5 percent of all registered electric vehicles (2,369 out of 5,712). Seoul, which has the second largest number of registered EVs, had 1,151. In contrast, North Gyeongsang Province had the lowest percentage of registered eco-friendly vehicles with only 0.6 percent.
By Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
