South Korea to tighten EV evaluation criteria to promote subsidy programs

The Ministry of Environment (MOE) of South Korea issued a preliminary legislative notice of partial amendments to the Regulations for Evaluation of Electric Vehicles to be Promoted from September 26 to October 15, 2024. With these partial amendments, MOE has stipulated standards for different EVs in accordance with Article 58, Paragraph 3 and Paragraph 19 of the Clean Air Conservation Act. These standards include: the driving range per charge under normal temperature environment; the ratio of driving range per charge under low temperature environment to that under normal temperature environment; and battery energy density. The new regulations are expected to allow national and local governments to determine which EVs are eligible to be subsidized and/or financed, while improving vehicle performance.

The major revisions proposed in the partial amendment are as follows.