- In the first nine months of 2014, EV share of the overall automobile Korean market went up 0.2 percentage point from the previous year to 2.2 percent, remaining at a low level. Korea is pushing upward electric vehicle (EV) sales by implementing various policies . Starting from 2015, the Korean government aims to expand market scale by subsidizing hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV) which account for 97 percent of all EV sales.

- Although HEV subsidies do not cover the volume-selling Hyundai Grandeur and Kia K7 models, they support the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, Lexus CT200h, Honda Insight, Ford Fusion, Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, Kia K5 2.0 Hybrid and Hyundai Sonata 2.0 Hybrid. Covered models must have a carbon dioxide emission level of l00g/km or less. In addition to receiving 1 million KRW in subsidies at the time of purchase, buyers are also eligible for a tax credit of up to 2.7 million KRW.

- Even if automakers have stepped up HEV and battery-electric vehicle (BEV) launches, Korea's consumer awareness is different from that  of Japan where EV share exceeds 15 percent; therefore, the future direction of Korea's EV market remains murky.

- In the first nine months of 2014, HEV sales were greatly impacted by the introduction of new models, increasing volume 16.2 percent from the previous year to 26,000 units. In December 2013, the Hyundai Motor Group launched the Grandeur and K7 both fitted with the same hybrid system. The Grandeur performed especially well, selling 9,768 units in the first nine months of 2014, accounting for 38.1 percent of all HEV sales. If the K7 is also added, Hyundai Motor Group's share reaches nearly half of all HEV sales .

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