South Korea increases electric car subsidies by 20 per cent in 2026
The South Korean government has been subsidising the purchase of electric and fuel cell cars for over a decade, making it one of the pioneers in this field. Next year, it wants to give electrification another boost, which is why the subsidy amount will be increased again at the turn of the year. On 14 November, it announced that subsidies would be increased from the current 780 billion won (approximately €461 million) to 936 billion won (approximately €555 million) in 2026. This represents an increase of 20 per cent.
Part of the new package is a replacement bonus of one million won, or the equivalent of 590 euros, which drivers will receive if they scrap their old combustion engine cars and buy a battery-electric or fuel cell vehicle instead. Also new are special subsidy programmes for electric or H2 buses.
Suppliers are being motivated to change
The government has also presented the ‘K-mobility global leadership strategy’ package of measures, with which it aims to strategically catch up with the world leaders in the domestic automotive industry. By 2030, the South Korean government wants to convert around 70 per cent of the current suppliers of components for combustion engines into companies specialising in future-proof vehicles. To this end, 200 specialised companies are to be explicitly named, and corresponding research programmes for a green transformation of the industry are to be launched.
In addition, the government plans to train around 70,000 skilled workers in the field of ‘future mobility’ by 2033. Training programmes are to be used to significantly improve the collaboration between AI, robotics and humans. In addition, a further 15 trillion won, equivalent to around 8.85 billion euros in our currency, is earmarked for state subsidies for the automotive industry.
When it comes to AI-supported autonomous driving, South Korea wants to catch up with the two leading countries in this field, China and the USA, by the end of the decade. In cooperation with LG Electronics and Hyundai Mobis, special platforms for software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and AI-defined vehicles (AIDVs) are to be developed. The necessary legal framework is to be established by 2026.
The South Korean government also wants to promote the development of export markets in high-growth countries such as Brazil, Saudi Arabia and India. To this end, a 50 billion won (29.5 million euro) innovation fund is being set up. Strategic foreign expansion is intended to circumvent global protectionism, while at the same time supporting domestic investment.
This article was first published by Elias Holdenried for electrive’s German edition.
0 Comments