Seoul, South Korea - South Korea has witnessed a significant surge in the sales of eco-friendly vehicles, with over 100,000 units sold in the first quarter of the year, spurred largely by the increasing popularity of hybrid models. Industry data released on Sunday revealed this upward trend in the nation's automotive market.
According to Yonhap News Agency, a total of 101,727 environmentally friendly cars were sold by five South Korean automakers, including industry leaders Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. This represents an 8.7 percent increase from the same period last year. Notably, hybrid cars accounted for 84.4 percent of these sales, totaling 85,828 units, which is a 42.4 percent jump from the previous year. In contrast, electric vehicle sales experienced a decline, dropping 51.4 percent to 15,237 units.
Kia's Sorento Hybrid emerged as the top-selling model in this category with 19,729 units sold in the first quarter, followed by Hyundai's Santa Fe Hybrid at 15,981 units and Kia's Carnival Hybrid with 12,203 units sold.