South Korea’s passenger car and light duty electric vehicle (PC & LDV EV) market more than tripled month-on-month to over 37,200 EV sales in February 2026. This is the first time the country’s monthly PC & LDV EV sales have surpassed 30,000 units. South Korea’s penetration rate also rose to new highs as it reached 30% for the first time.
EVs manufactured domestically drove the rise in sales, with the sale of locally made EVs increasing by almost 20,000 units month-on-month, compared to the 6,200 unit increase for imported EVs.
In January 2026 domestically produced and imported EVs sold in roughly equal quantities. The January data shows the Kia PV5 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 led the increase in sales for domestically manufactured vehicles, while the Model Y experienced the greatest increase of all models as its sales rose to over 7,000 units.
In January 2026, the South Korean government outlined its 2026 EV subsidy scheme. The scheme looks to encourage the adoption of smaller and more affordable EVs, which is expected to benefit lower income households. PC EVs under KRW53 million ($36,000) will be eligible for 100% of the subsidy, while those priced over KRW85 million ($57,700) will be eligible for no subsidy, with EVs priced in between able to receive 50% of the subsidy.
The total budget for the 2026 scheme is KRW1.60 trillion ($1.08 billion), with new PC purchases receiving a total budget of KRW780 billion ($529 million). With subsidy amounts ranging from around KRW5.7 million ($3,870) to KRW1.7 million ($1,150).
South Korea’s EV market is highly sensitive to the introduction and expiration of subsidies and their budgets. Following the announcement of the 2025 budget at the start of 2025, EV sales rose in the subsequent months until the budget was fully exhausted in the final months of the year. This trend is likely to be replicated this year, perhaps even exaggerated as consumers that missed out on last year’s budget, which was reduced compared to 2024, seek to take advantage of the 2026 budget.
This data came from Benchmark’s EV & Battery Service, for more information get in touch with the team using the form below:
