*This content was translated by AI.
According to an analysis by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA), the size of the domestic eco-friendly car market has grown 11.4 times over the past decade. The sales of eco-friendly cars were 68,774 in 2016 and 785,890 in 2025. Eco-friendly cars accounted for 51.9% of the total passenger car market last year. The eco-friendly car category includes electric vehicles, hybrids (full, mild, plug-in), and hydrogen vehicles.
The market for imported eco-friendly cars expanded 15.9 times compared to 10 years ago. Of the 307,377 imported cars sold as of 2025, 265,471 eco-friendly cars accounted for 86.4%. This is more than 43.1%, the proportion of eco-friendly cars in domestic cars. Domestic eco-friendly car sales increased 10.0 times during the same period.The eco-friendly car lineup is expanding to all models. Of the 365 eco-friendly car models sold in Korea in 2025, 323 imported car models and 42 domestic car models were counted. 62.1% of all imported cars are eco-friendly cars, and 36.8% of domestic cars are eco-friendly cars. SUVs accounted for the largest number of models by vehicle, followed by 141 sedans, 15 convertible, 4 vans, 3 pickups, and 2 CDVs.
Based on plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), electric vehicles (EVs), and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs), sales last year were 219,228 units. Among them, imported cars accounted for 104,896 units and domestic cars accounted for 114,332 units. Annual sales of electric vehicles increased from 5,753 in 2016 to 199,907 in 2025. Last year, 91,253 imported electric vehicles and 108,654 domestic electric vehicles were sold. Electric vehicle sales accounted for 13.2% of the total passenger car market.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the total number of electric vehicles registered as of the end of December 2025 was 755,581, which is 3.4% of the total number of passenger cars registered (22,038,603). In the case of imported cars, full hybrids and mild hybrids were aggregated into hybrid items by 2024, but they are counted separately from 2025. Imported mild hybrid (MHEV) sales in 2025 were 136,839 units, accounting for 44.5% of total sales of imported cars.KAIDA Vice Chairman Chung Yoon-young said imported cars have been leading the expansion of diversity in the domestic eco-friendly car market and will contribute to innovation and change for sustainability. The analysis targeted domestic sales models, and export models and used cars were excluded from the official tally.
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*This content was translated by AI.
