South Korea’s EV fleet tops 200,000 for the first time, could hit 1 million by early 2026 
The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE) of South Korea announced that annual number of newly registered electric vehicles (EVs) in the country reached 200,000 as of November 13, 2025. This figure significantly exceeds the previous all-time annual high of 164,000 recorded in 2022. Since annual EV registrations first exceeded 100,000 in 2021—the tenth year of the promotion project—the figure has more than doubled in just four years, highlighting the rapid acceleration of EV adoption in South Korea.
Share of EVs in total vehicle registrations (units)
| Category | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 (As of end of October) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Vehicles | 24,911,101 | 25,503,078 | 25,949,201 | 26,297,919 | 26,462,222 |
| Registered EVs | 231,443 | 389,855 | 543,900 | 684,244 | 869,739 |
| Proportion of EVs (%) | 0.9 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 3.3 |
| Registered HVs | 19,404 | 29,623 | 34,258 | 37,930 | 43,468 |
| Proportion of EVs and hydrogen vehicles (HVs) (%) | 1.0 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 3.5 |
Share of EVs in total NEW vehicle registrations (units)
| Category | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 (As of end of October) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newly registered vehicles | 1,748,979 | 1,697,135 | 1,764,275 | 1,650,648 | 1,409,097 |
| Newly registered EVs | 100,427 | 164,486 | 162,605 | 146,902 | 190,545 |
| Proportion of EVs (%) | 5.7 | 9.7 | 9.2 | 8.9 | 13.5 |
| Newly registered HVs | 8,532 | 10,256 | 4,673 | 3,784 | 5,689 |
| Proportion of EVs and HVs (%) | 6.2 | 10.3 | 9.5 | 9.1 | 13.9 |
By vehicle type, the numbers are as follows: electric passenger vehicles, 172,000; electric shared-passenger vehicles, 2,400; and electric cargo vehicles, 26,000. The proportion of South Korean–made models is 55 percent among passenger vehicles, 64 percent among shared-passenger vehicles, and 93 percent among cargo vehicles. Among electric buses (a category of shared-passenger vehicles), the share of South Korean–made models fell to 46 percent in 2023 but has been maintained at 63–64 percent in 2024–25.
In parallel, the number of hydrogen vehicles (HVs) has also increased compared with 2023–24, bringing the cumulative number of EVs and HVs to over 950,000. If this trend continues, the total is expected to reach one million in early 2026. The growth in EV and HV uptake in 2025 is attributed to several factors: the earlier commencement of related projects following the finalization of subsidy guidelines at the beginning of the year; the launch of a variety of new models by manufacturers; and recent improvements in the quality and availability of charging infrastructure.
The MCEE has been promoting projects to expand EVs and charging infrastructure since 2011, even before the full-scale commercialization of EVs. In addition, the Ministry has continuously reviewed its subsidy schemes in line with technological advances and trends in new-model releases. In particular, through subsidy policies that favor high-performance and reasonably priced vehicles, the Ministry has encouraged the introduction of models that better meet consumer needs. Meanwhile, industry has worked to improve performance metrics such as driving range per charge and charging speed, while also developing and introducing relatively affordable, mass-market EV models.
The MCEE is also advancing a reform of the existing subsidy support system to ensure that the expansion observed in 2025 contributes to the decarbonization of the transportation sector under South Korea’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets for 2030 and 2035. Going forward, the Ministry intends to strengthen coordination with relevant government agencies so that support measures are more effective and take into account the domestic parts industry as well as the broader related ecosystem.
The original text of this article is available at the following URL (in Korean).
The original text of the press release by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment of South Korea:
https://www.mcee.go.kr/home/web/board/read.do?pagerOffset=0&maxPageItems=10&maxIndexPages=10&searchKey=&searchValue=&menuId=10525&orgCd=&boardId=1820170&boardMasterId=1&boardCategoryId=&decorator=
