The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE, Minister Kim Sungwhan) announced that, in line with the increased adoption of electric vehicles this year, the number of newly registered vehicles reached 100,000 for the year by the third week of April. 

This performance is about three months faster* than in 2025, the year with the highest electric vehicle adoption on record.

* In 2025, the 100,000 mark was reached in the second week of July, and in 2024, in the second week of September.

< Status of Electric Vehicle Adoption in 2026 >

In 2026, the number of electric vehicles deployed stood at 83,533 by March, but an additional 23,406 units were deployed by the third week of April (through the 17th), surpassing 100,000. In addition, as of the end of March, the total number of registered electric vehicles in Korea was 981,321, meaning the total has now also exceeded 1 million.*

* The milestone of 100,000 new vehicles in 2026 was reached on April 14, and the total registered vehicles surpassed 1 million on April 15.

As of March this year, electric vehicles accounted for 83,533 out of 415,746 new vehicles, representing 20.1%.*

* Share of new electric vehicles: 9.2% in 2023 → 8.9% in 2024 → 13.0% in 2025 → 20.1% in 2026 (as of March)

The expansion in electric vehicle demand this year is attributed to factors such as the release of a wider range of new models by manufacturers, intensified price discount competition among automakers, expanded subsidies and accelerated deployment programs including government incentives for switching from internal combustion vehicles, and the trend of high oil prices driven by the recent situation in the Middle East.

As of April 17 this year, a total of 106,939 electric vehicles had been deployed, including 91,373 passenger vehicles, 311 buses, and 15,091 freight vehicles. 

< Status of Electric Vehicle Subsidy Payments >

Meanwhile, due to the sharp increase in electric vehicle demand since the beginning of this year, a positive market environment has formed. As a result, the first round of electric vehicle subsidy allocations prepared by local governments has been exhausted, leading to a suspension of applications and registrations. 

※ Local governments generally allocate local subsidy budgets several times throughout the year depending on their fiscal conditions → when setting the first round of allocations, they assumed demand for applications at a level similar to previous years

Going forward, once local governments secure additional allocations, issue second-round announcements, and resume applications, the deployment program is expected to proceed without major disruption. The MCEE is actively discussing and implementing necessary measures with relevant agencies so that consumers who had planned to purchase electric vehicles from the beginning of the year can make their purchases as quickly as possible.

First, local governments with remaining second-half local budgets will be encouraged to bring forward their announcement schedules, while those planning additional allocations but requiring time to finalize them will be allowed to use central government funds to prioritize subsidy payments, in order to resolve the suspension of applications, and consultations are underway with local governments.*

* Example: In the case of Jeju Province, it applied to the MCEE for advance payment of central government funds (April 6) before exhausting its local budget, and is continuing the deployment program without interruption to subsidy payments. 

In addition, through the regional and basin environment offices, the government is monitoring and managing the status of second-round announcement schedules down to the municipal level, and has reported that among the local governments where applications were suspended, 81 for passenger vehicles and 75 for freight vehicles plan to issue early announcements by May. 

In addition, measures such as approving advance payment of central government funds and organizing a supplementary budget are planned to ensure the resumption of the deployment program.*

* Local government status review meeting chaired by the MCEE Vice Minister (April 17, 2026)

< Expansion of Electric Vehicle Subsidy Allocations >

In addition, separately from these measures, considering the increased demand for switching to electric vehicles among small business owners and others facing fuel cost burdens, an additional 20,000 passenger vehicles and 9,000 freight vehicles have been added to the subsidy allocation through a supplementary budget. Each local government plans to allocate additional local funds to prevent any shortfall, and the MCEE intends to strictly manage execution.

* 2026 electric vehicle subsidy budget allocations (after supplementary budget): 280,000 passenger vehicles, 3,800 buses, 45,000 freight vehicles

Minister Kim Sungwhan emphasized, “This year will be recorded as a historic year marking the opening of the era of 1 million electric vehicles.” He added, “We will pursue effective and swift government-level measures to ensure that the public does not experience inconvenience in using electric vehicles.”

For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division. 

Contact person: Gina Lee, foreign media spokesperson

Phone: +82-44-201-6055

Email: gcjgina @gmail.com