Korea's eco-friendly car registrations exceed 1.5 million

Electric vehicles are charging at a charging station in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Dec. 25, 2022. [YONHAP]

Korea's environmentally friendly vehicle registrations exceeded 1.5 million last year on growing awareness of environmental issues and economic efficiency, the Transport Ministry said Thursday.

The number of eco-friendly car registrations increased to an accumulated 1.59 million at the end of 2022, accounting for 6.2 percent of the country's total car registrations, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement.

Of the eco-friendly cars, all-electric car registrations jumped 68 percent on-year to 389,855 units from 231,443 units, the statement said.

Eco-friendly vehicles include all-electric, hydrogen fuel-cell electric, plug-in hybrid and gasoline hybrid models.

The country's vehicle registrations, including imported vehicles, reached 25.5 million as of December, up 2.4 percent from a year earlier.

Yonhap