Motor Vehicle Ownership: Automobiles Exceed 24 Million, EVs Also Increased by 2.5%

South Korea’s automobile ownership volume was 24.02 million units as of June 2020 and the ownership rate went up to 463.4 units per 1,000 people, still growing gradually. The ownership volume increased by 346,000 units compared to the previous year. Looking at data by vehicle type, the volume of passenger vehicles increased by 344,000 units to 19.52 million units and that of cargo vehicles by 9,976 units to 3.6 million units while that of buses decreased by 13,000 units to 799,000 units.

Automobile ownership volume (as of June 2020) stood at 10.69 million units in the Capital Area, which makes 44.5% of the total. Of which the volume in Seoul went up to 3.1 million units as well as Gyeonggi to 5.9 million units, keeping the highest volume.

Looking at passenger vehicle data by engine displacement as of June 2020, the most popular 1,801-2,000cc class increased by 35,000 units to 7.18 million units. The 2,001-2,500cc and the 1,501-1,600cc classes grew most, with an increase of 123,000 units to 2.7 million units and 121,000 units to 3.2 million units respectively. The marked increase seems to be attributed to the new launch of Hyundai Grandeur (2,001-2,500cc class), Kia Seltos and Renault Samsung XM3 (1,501-1,600cc class).

By fuel, the petrol-powered vehicle ownership volume in 2019 was 10.96 million units, an increase of 331,000 units from the previous year, expanding the composition ratio to 46.3%. The diesel-powered vehicle ownership volume slightly increased by 28,000 units to 9.95 million units. As for electric vehicles, the ownership volume ratio expanded to 2.5% with an increase of 139,000 units to 601,000 units. By type, the HEV/PHEV volume was 506,000 units, the BEV was 90,000 units, and the FCEV was 5,083 units.