To Boost Korea's Share of Global EV Market to 12%
The Korean government plans to boost domestic automakers' electric vehicle (EV) production to 3.3 million units by 2030 and increase their global market share to 12 percent.
The plan is part of the government's vision for the automobile industry unveiled by Lee Chang-yang, minister of trade, industry and energy, at a roundtable held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Sept. 28. The meeting was attended by officials from automakers, parts suppliers, mobility developers and related organizations.
Lee declared that the Korean government intends to make the nation one of the world's three automobile powerhouses. For this, it will focus on fostering the domestic EV industry.
The plan calls for localizing core software for vehicles, such as operating systems (OSs) and over-the-air (OTA) updates, to strengthen software and semiconductor capabilities, which hold the key to boosting electrification competitiveness.
By 2030, it will nurture 10,000 software professionals and 300 companies for automotive software. As for automotive semiconductors, it has decided to double Korean chipmakers’ global market share to 6.6 percent by 2030 by encouraging them to intensively develop 16 core items such as processors, sensors and power semiconductors.
The government plans to shorten the charging speed of EVs from the current 18 minutes based on superfast 80 percent charging to five minutes by 2030. The driving distance on one single charge will be expanded from the current 500 km to 600 km by 2025. If the charging time is shortened, charging stations can be installed around residential areas like gas stations, government officials believe. Korean carmakers will be able to expand the durability of hydrogen cars from the current 300,000 km to 800,000 km by 2030 and improve fuel efficiency from the current 13 km per kg to 17 km.
The Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will strongly support the Korean automobile industry’s plan to invest over 95 trillion won for five years until 2026 through regulatory improvements and tax support. In accordance with the enforcement of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the ministry has decided to help Korean automakers accelerate production of automobiles in the United States and secure batteries that meet the IRA’s requirements earlier. It will also enhance the stability of the industry’s supply chains by promoting localization rates of 14 key parts such as large motors and ultra-high-speed bearings from the current 70 percent to more than 90 percent by 2025.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority opened an autonomous driving future innovation center in K-City, Hwaseong of Gyeonggi Province. The center is a 364,000-square-meter autonomous vehicle test bed and has various road environments such as highways, downtown areas, parking facilities, and bus lanes.
To test Level 4 or higher autonomous driving technology, the center can create inclement weather conditions (dense fog and heavy rains) on its test road, which has a 60-meter-long out-of-communication-service section and an urban traffic congestion section.