Tesla accounted for nearly a portion of Korea’s government subsidies for electric cars in the first part of this year. Chinese electric bus brands have also benefited significantly.
According to the Korean Automobile Manufacturers Association on Sunday, car sales in the January-June era increased by 2.7% year-on-year to 16,359 cars.
Sales through Korean automakers fell 43.1% in this consistent period due to the publication of new models, as well as reduced car-consistent subsidies and collection costs.
But sales of imported electric cars surged 564.1 percent. Tesla’s aggressive marketing of its Model 3 resulted in sales surging from just 417 to 7,080 while its share of Korea’s EV market rose to 43.3 percent in the first six months.
The U.S. automaker earned one billion won in subsidies, or 43% of the total (US1 – W1.203).
Chinese automakers also performed well thanks to their electric buses. Their sales of electric buses here rose 64.5 percent on-year to 181 as provincial government expanded subsidies for green vehicles. That meant Chinese electric bus makers Hifus and J Motors’ sales doubled to 70 and saw their share of the Korean market rose to 38.7 percent.
They benefited from 35.1 percent of EV subsidies or W5.9 billion.
KAMA President Chung Man-ki said: “Subsidies come from taxpayers, so we want to review the formula to get the benefits of Korean automakers.”