South Korea's electric vehicle market grew at a 124.5% AGR and 13.4% penetration in 2021
The electric vehicle (EV) market in South Korea grew rapidly in 2021, reaching 68,923 units, an annual growth rate of 124.5%. The light commercial vehicle (LCV) market in South Korea is very large, and although its size fits the definition of a passenger car, it is primarily used for the purpose of freight transportation (e.g., Hyundai Porter), Researcher and Research LLC considers that South Korea's data excluding LCV should be used as a benchmark for comparing South Korea with other EV sales countries. However, if LCV is included in the statistics, the South Korean EV market will exceed 100,000 units in 2021.
Figure 1 Monthly EV registrations in South Korea in 2021
South Korea's EV market experienced peak registrations in March, June, and September. However, there is no such development pattern in the internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle market, as shown in Figure 1.
Researcher and Research LLC observed that Tesla, which is popular in South Korea, delivered cars to customers in March, June and September, resulting in significantly higher figures in those three months than in the rest of the quarter. As a result of Tesla's repeated record sales in South Korea, EV sales in 2020 and 2021 were significantly impacted by Tesla's sales plans in certain months.
In terms of EV penetration, as shown in Figure 1, it was on an upward trend in successive waves and reached a peak of 26.5% in September 2021. On a full-year basis, EV penetration was 13.4% in 2021, a significant increase of 8.7% compared to 4.7% in 2020.
Figure 2 Monthly annual growth rates for EV and passenger vehicle in South Korea in 2021
In addition to lagging behind the overall car market in January and February 2021, the annual growth rate of EV in South Korea has shown a significant lead in the rest of the month, as shown in Figure 2.
The South Korean government has proposed a number of stimulus plans last year to support the industry and subsidize the market, which will help the South Korean EV market grow further in 2022, but the battery supply chain is the biggest obstacle to market growth. With this in mind, we estimate the South Korean EV market to be 139,266 units in 2022, with an annual growth rate of 102.1%.