New Classification of ‘Large Electric Vehicles’ by Government…Ioniq 9, etc. Beneficiaries Easing eco-friendly standards for large vehicles…Medium-sized cars are reinforced.
![Electric cars being charged at an electric vehicle charging station. [Reporter Han Joo-hyung]](https://www.wiredfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/The-government-has-decided-to-lower-the-threshold-for-tax.jpg)
The government has decided to lower the threshold for tax benefits for electric vehicle consumers by easing standards for eco-friendly certification for large electric vehicles.
According to the industry on the 12th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced an administrative notice of the revision of the “Regulations on Environmentally Friendly Automobiles, etc.” The move is aimed at reviving demand for electric vehicles, which have been slowed by battery fires. In particular, it is expected to promote domestic electric vehicle sales, which will be released this year.
Currently, electric vehicles are recognized as eco-friendly electric vehicles only when their energy consumption efficiency is 3.7km/kWh or higher, regardless of medium and large. However, the amendment will classify electric vehicles into medium and large based on the distance between the front and rear wheels (the distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel) of 3050mm, and recognize large electric vehicles as eco-friendly vehicles if they meet only 3.4km/kWh. On the other hand, vehicles with an axial distance of less than 3050mm must be 4.2km/kWh or more in the future to receive eco-friendly vehicle certification.
Consumers who purchase eco-friendly certified vehicles can receive a reduction of up to 3 million won in individual consumption taxes. In addition, education tax reduction equivalent to 30% of individual consumption tax reduction and acquisition tax reduction of up to 1.4 million won will be provided.
Hyundai Motor’s Ioniq 9 and Kia Motors’ EV9, which are scheduled to be released this year, will be subject to eased eco-friendly certification regulations applied to large electric vehicles with 3130mm and 3100mm, respectively. Most imported electric vehicles currently sold in Korea are subject to strengthened eco-friendly regulations because the distance between the axes is less than 3050mm.
Analysts in the automobile industry say that it may have indirectly supported the domestic automobile industry ahead of the launch of large domestic electric vehicles. “It is not easy to respond to such regulatory changes because Korea is one of several exporters to imported car companies,” said Kim Pil-soo, a professor of automobile at Daelim University. “It seems to be a kind of desperate measure from the perspective of the Korean government, which is difficult to apply countervailing tariffs such as the U.S. and Europe, and cannot give subsidies only to Korean companies.”
The government expected that the overhaul of the system would strengthen the overall energy efficiency of eco-friendly electric vehicles and give diversity to consumers’ choices by launching large vehicles. An official from the Ministry of Industry explained, “We have come up with such a plan to find a breakthrough amid the recent slowdown in the supply of eco-friendly cars due to the electric vehicle casm (temporary demand stagnation).”
