South Korea

After first entering Korea in 2019 as part of a food delivery partnership, Gogoro is now expanding its battery-swapping electric scooters around the country and opening up ridership for everyday commuters. It’s a move that follows Gogoro’s tried and true strategy of entering countries with an initial focus on business customers and then expanding to private consumers.

South Korean officials and leaders from Japan are expressing concerns over the new US EV tax credit requirements that kick in at the end of the year. New reports are surfacing that Japan and South Korea will request flexibility in the rule changes. Will they get their way, paving the way for automakers like Toyota, Hyundai, and Kia electric vehicles to qualify?

Chinese automotive giant and Volvo/Polestar parent company, Geely, has signed an agreement with the French Renault Group to launch a new collaboration intended to bring fuel-efficient hybrid electric cars to South Korea, as well as export sales into other Asian markets.

South Korea today announced its commitment to slash its emissions by 40% of 2018 levels by 2030, compared to an initial 26.3% goal that the country set in 2020.

In DK Kim’s first report from Korea, he gets a sneak peek at Hyundai’s incredible Ioniq 6, the production version of the Hyundai Prophecy Concept that was revealed in 2020.

In an effort to expedite the country’s transition toward electric vehicles, the South Korean government is lowering the prices of electric vehicles by 2025. This strategy includes implementing electric battery leases for Korean customers. This would cut their initial purchase costs by nearly half.

Tesla launched in South Korea earlier this year despite being at a disadvantage against other electric vehicles. Tesla buyers don’t have access to the very generous electric vehicle incentive of up to 26 million won (~$23,000) offered by the government.

Now they have announced that they are removing the restriction that made Tesla’s vehicles ineligible.
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Late last year, we reported on comments made by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and CTO JB Straubel while they were in Korea for the Energy Korea Forum 2015. They said Tesla is “committed” to the South Korean market and that he sees a “great potential” there, but they didn’t want to commit to a timeline for an expansion in the country just yet.

Now it looks like the automaker is planning to enter the Korean market as soon as “early 2017” based on talks held with TK, South Korea’s second-biggest telecom company, to provide Tesla’s fleet with telematic services.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk and CTO JB Straubel were in Korea this week and they attended the Energy Korea Forum 2015. Local South Korean news reported on comments made by Straubel during a Q&A session at the forum, the CTO said that Tesla is “committed” to the South Korean market and that he sees a “great potential” there. Although he didn’t offer a concrete timeline on when the company plans to start selling cars in the country.
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAG8QpbEAS4]

I’m still infatuated with the Chevy Spark EV. The Korean/American EV can be had for significantly under $20K or $200/month meaning it can be free after gas cost savings for big commuters. The practical little 4 seat hatchback can go around 80 miles on a charge and can be charged quickly using the same SAE DC  charger as the BMW i3.

There’s more!

It has more torque (over 400ft/lbs) than a Ferrari 458 Italia and can hit 60 miles per hour in 7 seconds flat.

Did I mention it is essentially free if you currently spend $10/day on gasoline?

The Spark EV starts its life in Changwon, South Korea where gasoline and electric sparks are built by GM Korea, which was once known as Daewoo. But the heart of the Spark comes from America. GM is building the permanent magnet motors in Maryland, and instead of LG batteries made in Korea (like the Volt) GM is using American-made batteries courtesy of B456 (formerly A123. I’m not making this up). For reasons we don’t understand, GM isn’t “doing a CODA” and shipping cars sans-drivetran to America for assembly. The plant in Maryland ships the batteries and drivetrain to Korea, GM Korea inserts it in the car and ships the completed unit back to the USA.

Anyway, here’s a great review. I have no idea how they keep these in stock. Chevy please send these outside of California and Oregon.  Money quote:

Power is supplied by a 560lb, 21.3 kWh lithium battery pack located where the gas tank is in the gasoline Spark. As with the Chevy Volt, GM is taking the cautious path to battery preservation equipping the pack with an active heating and cooling system. That’s a stark contrast to the Nissan Leaf which uses a passive cooling system. Thanks to the lightest curb weight in the group (2,989lbs), the Spark scores 82 miles of EPA range and the highest efficiency rating of any EV to date. Depending on the weight of my right foot, my real world range varied from 70-100 miles.