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Korea’s registered vehicles top 26 million as environmentally friendly cars pass 10% milestone

Published: 22 Jan. 2025, 09:32 Updated: 22 Jan. 2025, 16:23

A hybrid vehicle parked at a parking lot in Seoul. [YONHAP]

The total number of registered vehicles in Korea surpassed 26 million units last year, with environmentally friendly cars accounting for over 10 percent for the first time, driven by growth in hybrid vehicle sales, the government said Wednesday.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the total number of registered vehicles reached 26.3 million units as of the end of December, up 1.3 percent from a year ago.

By fuel type, gasoline and diesel models came to 12.4 million units and 9.1 million units, respectively, followed by liquefied petroleum gas and hybrid models, with 1.85 million and 2.02 million units, respectively.

The number of EVs and hydrogen models came to 684,000 units and 38,000 units, respectively. The total number of environmentally friendly vehicles, including electric, hydrogen and hybrid models, totaled 2.75 million units, up 626,000 units from a year ago.

The growth of hybrid models, in particular, helped push the share of environmentally friendly vehicles to 10.4 percent of all registered vehicles, up 2.2 percentage points on year to surpass the 10 percent threshold for the first time.

In contrast, the total number of internal combustion engine cars declined 1.2 percent to 23.37 million units, marking the second consecutive annual decline.

Domestically manufactured cars accounted for 86.5 percent of the total, while imported cars made up 13.5 percent.

"Hybrid vehicles, in particular, saw significant increases across all vehicle segments, reflecting a broader demand and diversification in the environmentally friendly vehicle market," a ministry official said.

Yonhap