Background of establishment of classification criteria for electric vehicles Heavy-duty Electric Vehicle Market Strengthen options by inducing new cars to be released Emphasize indoor space and ride quality in the Korean market I tend to go for a long time. Kia EV9, which is more than 3050mm, will benefit. The main model of imported cars is ‘short waist’. Application of enhanced medium-sized vehicle equipment standards Environmentally friendly car thresholds rise and disadvantages
The government’s ostensible reason for setting new standards for electric vehicles is to promote the development of high-efficiency eco-friendly vehicles with excellent electricity (electric vehicle fuel efficiency) and to diversify the types of vehicles released in the domestic market.
When selling eco-friendly electric vehicles, automakers emphasize tax benefits that consumers can receive, such as individual consumption tax, education tax, and acquisition tax reduction, so there is a great incentive to meet the standards set by the government.
An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, “As the standards for energy consumption efficiency technology for high-efficiency electric vehicles are stagnant compared to the market level, its role as a support system has weakened, such as granting technology development goals,” adding, “We judged that it is necessary to rationalize standards to properly distinguish high-efficiency vehicles by reflecting market conditions.”
The government also eased the pre-regulation requirements for large electric vehicles. It is evaluated that it reflects the will to reorganize the electric vehicle market, which is relatively less diverse than internal combustion locomotives. In other words, it is a signal to market large electric vehicles more actively to expand consumers’ options.
An official from the Ministry of Industry said, “The government’s policy to strengthen eco-friendly cars could be criticized for retreating, so we thought it was essential to strengthen consumers’ options to overcome the electric car casm.
The strengthening of eco-friendly regulatory requirements applied to mid-sized electric vehicles was also attributed to the judgment that the criteria for classifying high-efficiency electric vehicles were old and thus there was no discrimination power.
Meanwhile, the automobile industry is adding to the interpretation that the government’s move has set up a kind of “trade technology barrier” to protect the domestic automobile industry. This interpretation is supported by the fact that imported cars target the global market with a single design, so they cannot be equipped to manufacture vehicles in accordance with Korea’s eco-friendly regulations.
According to the new eco-friendly certification standards for electric vehicles, new domestic electric vehicles with a relatively long axial distance compared to imported vehicles will benefit. Hyundai’s Ioniq 9 and Kia’s EV 9, which will be released this year, will be classified as large electric vehicles according to the newly changed regulations, with an inter-axis distance of more than 3050mm. Buyers can benefit from the tax if they are subject to easier pre-regulation requirements than before.
On the other hand, imported electric vehicles in Korea face a relatively unfavorable environment. Some imported electric vehicles, classified as medium-sized electric vehicles due to their short inter-axis, are at a crossroads between introducing vehicles with excellent electricity in line with enhanced energy consumption efficiency or launching vehicles with sufficient inter-axis distance.
Tesla’s Model X Plaid, which received eco-friendly certification in May 2023, has an inter-axis distance of 2,965mm and energy consumption efficiency of 3.8km/kWh, which will deprive it of its eco-friendly car status according to the new standard.
The Porsche Macan Turbo, launched in November last year, is also classified as a medium-sized car according to the new eco-friendly vehicle certification standard with a shaft distance of 2,807mm, and its energy consumption efficiency is 4.0km/kWh, so it is recognized as an eco-friendly car if it is before the regulation is enforced, but the changed regulations exclude it from eco-friendly cars.
BYD, which is preparing to enter the domestic market, also has a gap of 2,920mm. Audi’s “The New Audi Q6 e-Tron,” which is scheduled to be released in Korea in the first half of 2025, also has a gap of 2,889mm.
The eco-friendly car system is a system that supports incentives such as tax reduction and exemption for eco-friendly cars that meet technical requirements such as energy consumption efficiency, single-charge mileage, maximum speed, and nominal voltage. In the case of eco-friendly electric vehicles, individual income taxes can be reduced by up to 3 million won, education taxes can be reduced by 900,000 won, and acquisition taxes can be reduced by 1.4 million won. Benefits such as a 50% discount on public parking lots and a reduction in highway tolls will also be added.
In the reform of the system, the government also drastically raised the threshold for eco-friendly certification for electric buses. Regardless of the length, electric buses have been recognized as eco-friendly vehicles if their energy consumption efficiency is 1.0km/kWh or more, but they will be subdivided into five in the future according to their length. Among them, for large buses of 9m or more, the energy consumption efficiency standard is 2.57km/kWh or more, which should be 2.5 times more efficient than the current one.
Some say that it is to check Chinese electric buses over the government’s measures. In fact, in 2023, a total of 1,239 electric buses from China took more than half of the market share as they surpassed domestic sales (1,139 units) for the first time on sale.
“In the future, automakers will have to choose whether to increase their electricity supply significantly or manufacture vehicles with plenty of space between them to certify eco-friendly cars,” an official from the automobile industry said. “In particular, imported cars that are difficult to adjust their specifications to domestic standards are expected to be relatively disadvantageous.”
🔍 Distance between axes ▷ It refers to the distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel of a car. If the distance between the axes is long, it has good straightness, driving safety, and riding comfort. Of course, the indoor space is also large. However, there is also a disadvantage in that the radius of rotation increases when driving in the curved section, making the movement slow. In addition, the lower part of the car may be scratched from the speed bump or downhill road.
