Promoting the Distribution of 150,000 Eco-friendly Vehicles by 2025

Seoul City announced plans to invest 2 trillion won by 2022 as part of fine dust reduction measures and to promote the distribution of a total of 150,000 eco-friendly vehicles, including electric vehicles, by 2025.

From 2009 to the present, Seoul City has completed the distribution of a total of 6,358 electric vehicles (5,504 passenger cars, 35 buses and trucks, 60 taxis, and 759 two-wheelers), and this year is expected to break through 10,000 electric vehicles by additionally distributing 4,030 units (3,400 passenger cars, 30 buses, 100 taxis, and 500 two-wheelers). A total of 68.2 billion won will be invested this year.

Last year, Seoul City declared the "Seoul Electric Vehicle Era" with five organizations including the Ministry of Environment, Seoul Metropolitan Council, the EU Delegation to Korea, Woori Bank, and the Green Seoul Citizens Committee. As a follow-up measure, Seoul City established and announced a mid-to-long-term plan titled "Seoul 2025: A City Where Electric Vehicles Are Convenient," with key components including expansion of charging infrastructure, promotion of electric vehicle distribution, and acceleration of commercial vehicle (buses, taxis, delivery services, etc.) conversion to electric vehicles.

Seoul City will provide purchase subsidies for 4,030 electric vehicles, this year's distribution target. As the number of electric vehicles increases, charging infrastructure will be expanded to enhance convenience for citizens. Following the installation of 380 public electric vehicle charging stations (250 fast-charging, 130 slow-charging) by last year, Seoul City will additionally install 284 charging stations (134 fast-charging, 150 slow-charging) this year to expand the total to 664 stations.

In relation to this, Seoul City will begin accepting applications from the 12th for the "2018 Private Distribution Project for Electric and Hydrogen Vehicles, 1st Call for Proposals." The application scale is a total of 2,257 vehicles (2,254 electric vehicles, 3 hydrogen vehicles), and the target includes individuals, companies, corporations, organizations, and public institutions hoping to purchase electric vehicles.

Applicants must be individuals aged 18 and older with an address in Seoul, corporations and companies with places of business in Seoul, public institutions, and local public enterprises. Upon execution of a purchase contract with a vehicle manufacturer or dealer, an application for purchase subsidy support for vehicles that can be delivered within 2 months by the manufacturer or dealer must be submitted to the city, and the city will grant purchase application qualification to qualified applicants.

Purchase subsidies are paid on a differentiated basis ranging from 12.06 million won to a maximum of 17 million won per electric passenger vehicle based on vehicle performance and environmental improvement effects.

Eligible vehicle types for purchase subsidy support are vehicles that have completed environmental evaluation by the Ministry of Environment and are posted as distribution vehicles on the Ministry of Environment's integrated portal. Among vehicles granted purchase application qualification in the preliminary review by Seoul City for subsidy support targets, subsidies are paid to manufacturers and dealers in the order of delivery and registration.

Meanwhile, electric vehicles come with various benefits including purchase subsidies and up to 5.9 million won in tax exemptions, 50% discount on public parking fees, 100% exemption from South Mountain Tunnel congestion tolls, and discounted charging fees, making them economical with lower fuel costs.

When purchasing an electric vehicle, tax benefits of up to 5.9 million won can be received, including 3 million won in individual consumption tax, 900,000 won in education tax, and 2 million won in acquisition tax. Vehicle tax also applies uniformly at only 130,000 won per year for non-business individual owners, effectively providing tax reductions.

In addition, public parking fees are reduced by 50% (Seoul City public parking lots exempt 1 hour of fast-charging parking fees), South Mountain Tunnel congestion tolls are 100% exempted (for vehicles registered in Seoul with low-emission electronic tags "Clean Seoul" attached), and expressway tolls are reduced by 50%.

Furthermore, to ease the charging cost burden on electric vehicle users, the basic charge for electricity usage is exempted and electricity rates are discounted. For fast-charging, users can charge at 173.8 won per kWh (compared to the previous 313.1 won/kWh, approximately 44% reduction), and users can receive up to an additional 50% discount when using specific cards.

Hwang Bo-yeon, Head of Seoul City's Climate and Environment Division, stated, "As citizens' interest in fine dust has increased recently, demand and inquiries regarding electric vehicles have also increased significantly. We will open the full-fledged era of electric vehicles starting this year with the goal of distributing more than 150,000 electric vehicles by 2025," he added.