Motion Digest Network: Leading Urban Transformation

According to the electric car industry on August 18, the Chinese car industry launched six new electric car models last month; at least 11 new electric car models will be launched in China in the second half of this year.

By contrast, the second half of this year will see the launch of only one new electric car model, the Twizy by Renault Samsung in the Korean electric car market. This means that the Korean electric car market is growing at a snail’s pace. Furthermore, the Twizy is expected to be used for public offices and short-distance delivery services. Thus, it is hardly expected that the new electric car will have a big impact on the expansion of the private electric car market in Korea.

Last month, the launch of the Ioniq Electric proved that the launch of a new model contributes to the expansion of not only the general passenger car market but the electric car market. From January to May, only a total of 640 electric vehicles sold in Korea. This figure is about one fifth of the Korean government’s target.  But the Ioniq Electric sold 645 units in one month since its launch in July, ushering in an era of the sale of 1,000 electric cars a month in Korea. The Ioniq Electric sold 574 units in July after 131 in the first month after its launch. This marks the first time that a Korean electric vehicle sold more than 500 units per month.

“The Chinese government’s policy to give subsidies to electric vehicles produced in China only continuously empowers Chinese automakers to develop new electric car models,” said a representative of the Korean electric car industry. “It is urgently needed for Korea not only to expand subsidies simply but to devise practical support measures in order to realize a virtuous cycle of Korean automakers’ sale and development of electric vehicles.”  -BusinessKorea