Eco-friendly vehicles made up 50.4 percent of new car registrations in South Korea during the first half of this year, with a significant rise in electric vehicle (EV) sales leading the trend. This marks the first time that more than half of new car registrations in the January-June period were eco-friendly, according to the CarIsYou Data Research Center citing government data.
In the same period, a total of 429,163 eco-friendly vehicles, including battery electric, gasoline hybrid, and hydrogen fuel-cell models, were registered out of 851,833 newly registered vehicles. The data reveals a steady increase in the share of eco-friendly vehicles, climbing from 9.1 percent in 2020 to 25.5 percent in 2023 and 38.5 percent in 2025.
Notably, the share of gasoline-powered vehicles dropped to 39 percent in the first half, falling below the 40 percent mark for the first time since 2016 when it was at 39.9 percent. The surge in eco-friendly vehicle registrations was mainly propelled by robust sales of electric vehicles, which saw a 112.6 percent increase from the previous year to 198,969 units in the first half.
Industry experts attribute the mainstream adoption of eco-friendly vehicles in the domestic auto market to an expanded range of new models and the early distribution of government EV subsidies. Tesla, the U.S. electric vehicle maker, emerged as the top-selling imported passenger car brand in South Korea during the first half of the year, capturing 30 percent of the market.
According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA), there were 184,032 newly registered imported passenger cars in the January-June period, marking a 33.2 percent increase from the previous year. Tesla led the imports with 56,139 units, representing 30.5 percent of the total imports, showcasing a significant surge in market share and sales compared to the previous year.
