Electric vehicle sales in South Korea surged in the first nine months of this year, while hybrid sales fell for the first time since fuel-type data began to be compiled.
A total of 1,234,775 new vehicles were registered in the country from January through September, according to the Korea Automobile & Mobility Industry Association (KAMA) on the 13th. Of that total, 421,199 were hybrids, including mild hybrids, down 3.9% from a year earlier. Their share of all new registrations slipped 0.4 percentage point to 34.1%. It was the first nine-month decline since the association began compiling data by fuel type in 2013.
Gasoline vehicle registrations fell 19.4% to 386,533, cutting their share to 31.3%. Diesel registrations plunged 58.6% to 29,712, shrinking their share to 2.4%.
Electric vehicles accounted for 296,801 registrations, or 24.0% of the total, meaning one in four new vehicles was electric. EV registrations rose 74.8% from a year earlier. Imported models drove the expansion, with 132,848 imported EVs making up 44.8% of all EV registrations. More than four in 10 imported new vehicles, or 45.3%, were electric. Tesla alone sold 89,148 units, up 104.4% from a year earlier on strong demand for the Model Y and Model 3.
Among domestic automakers, Hyundai Motor and Kia posted diverging results. Kia sold 101,490 EVs on the strength of its dedicated electric lineup, including the EV5, EV4 and PV5, with electric models accounting for 23.3% of its total sales. Hyundai Motor, including its Genesis brand, sold 55,733 EVs, or 12.7% of its total. Kia also outsold Hyundai Motor in hybrids, with 155,240 units against 120,747. Cumulative domestic sales for the nine months came to 437,449 units for Hyundai Motor and 436,098 for Kia, a gap of just 1,351 vehicles.
The pullback in hybrid sales appears to reflect parts supply disruptions. A fire in March at auto parts maker Ahnjin Industrial delayed shipments of several key models, a number of them hybrids. At Hyundai Motor, new versions of core hybrid models including the Avante, Tucson and Grandeur were concentrated in the second half of the year, leaving buyers waiting.
Drivers favor EVs and hybrids when fuel costs rise
In a separate survey of 500 drivers nationwide conducted in August by used-car platform K Car, 72.0% of respondents said they would consider replacing their vehicle if fuel prices rose.
Asked how large an increase in fuel costs would prompt them to consider a replacement, the largest group, 35.0%, cited a rise of 20% or more. Gasoline and hybrid owners most often pointed to pump prices in the 2,200-won-per-liter range, at 27.9%, while diesel owners most often cited the 2,000-won range, at 25.0%. Sustained high prices mattered more than short-term spikes, with meaningful replacement demand emerging only when elevated prices persisted for at least six months.
Asked which fuel type they would prefer in a replacement vehicle, respondents ranked electric first at 39.2% and hybrid second at 36.8%. Combined preference for the two eco-friendly options reached 76.0%, suggesting that fuel costs are a key driver of the shift toward greener mobility. Preference for internal combustion models remained in the single digits, at 6.2% for gasoline, 2.0% for LPG and 1.8% for diesel.