The first quarter of the domestic electric vehicle market was a fierce battle between the Bongo and Porter. The Bongo 3 EV and Porter EV accounted for nearly half of the domestic electric vehicle market, leading the electric vehicle segment.
Sales of domestic electric vehicles in Q1 totaled 31,179 units, a 35.7% increase compared to 22,960 units in the previous year.
This year, unlike previous years, the domestic electric vehicle market was dominated by trucks. The main players were Hyundai’s Porter EV and Kia’s Bongo EV. Although they faced fierce competition, it ultimately became a Hyundai Group exclusive party with no other competing models.
The model that seized the lead first was the Porter EV. In Q1 of this year, the Porter EV sold 7,745 units, a staggering 93.3% increase from 4,007 units the previous year. The Kia Bongo 3 EV recorded sales of 7,070 units, up 68.8% from 4,188 units last year. The combined total for both models was 14,815 units, making up 47.5% of the domestic electric vehicle market for the first quarter. One out of every two electric trucks sold in the first quarter was from the Hyundai Group.
The increase in sales share of 1-ton electric trucks is due to the growing popularity of the Porter EV and Bongo 3 EV as logistics delivery trucks. As more Porter EVs and Bongo 3 EVs are used for short-distance logistics delivery, the proportion of 1-ton trucks in the domestic electric vehicle market has significantly risen.
Excluding trucks, the Kia EV6 saw sales increase to 4,960 units, a 10.0% rise from 4,510 units last year, while the Hyundai Ioniq 6 recorded 3,855 units, further boosting Hyundai’s electrification market share.
Contact: 이상진 daedusj@autodiary.kr