Market tracking agency CarisYou said on Thursday that hybrid vehicle registrations in South Korea increased 41% year-on-year in the first four months of this year amid a slowdown in pure electric vehicle sales.
CarisYou said in a report that in the first four months of this year, the number of newly registered gasoline hybrids and plug-in hybrids in South Korea jumped from 91,750 in the same period last year to 129,201.
Of the newly registered hybrid cars, 91% came from Hyundai and its smaller subsidiary Kia Motors, while Japanese brands — Honda, Toyota, and their luxury brand Lexus — accounted for 5.7%, and other brands.
“Demand for gasoline-hybrid models is expected to remain strong for the time being, but in the long run, if governments come up with solutions to the high price of electric vehicles and insufficient charging infrastructure, electric vehicle sales will rebound.”