Electric vehicle sales in South Korea cross 5 lakh: Industry data

Seoul, April 2 (IANS) The number of cumulative electric vehicle (EV) registrations in South Korea surpassed the 500,000 mark last year, according to industry data on Tuesday.

According to the data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association and the transport ministry, the number of registered EVs in the country reached 543,900 as of end 2023.

South Korea has officially recorded EV registrations since 2017. Last year's tally represents a 39.5 per cent jump from the 389,855 recording as of the end of 2022, reports Yonhap news agency.

The number of EV chargers installed in the country also topped the 300,000 mark, reaching 305,509 units last year.

Of those, 279,923 were regular speed chargers and 34,386 were fast chargers. The number of chargers newly installed last year grew 48.8 per cent from 2022.

The Ioniq 5 by Hyundai Motor Co. had the highest number of registrations among EVs, amounting to 70,756 units.

The average battery capacity of the seven models in the Ioniq lineup was found to be 71.89 kilowatt-hours.