Now In Korea
South Korea to Offer Up to 6.8 Million KRW for Switching from Gas Cars to EVs; New Conversion Grant Introduced
Creatrip Team
2 months ago
The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment unveiled its 2026 electric vehicle (EV) subsidy reform, introducing a new conversion grant to speed up replacements of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with EVs. Consumers who scrap or sell an ICE car that has been owned for more than three years (excluding hybrids) and buy an EV will receive a new 1,000,000 KRW conversion grant, bringing the maximum government support for a mid-size EV to 6,800,000 KRW (previously up to 5,800,000 KRW). The ministry will keep subsidy unit levels at 2025 amounts and expand support to new vehicle categories, including small electric vans and medium/large electric trucks, with subsidies up to 15,000,000 KRW for small vans and up to 60,000,000 KRW for large trucks. Child-transport electric vans will get separate, higher support, with small models eligible for up to 30,000,000 KRW. Performance and price eligibility criteria will be tightened—faster charging, longer range, and higher battery energy density will be favored—and full subsidy price caps for some EVs will be lowered (e.g., passenger EV full-support limit to 50,000,000 KRW from 2027). The reform also adds support for new technologies and services (e.g., plug-and-charge (PnC), vehicle-to-grid (V2G)), requires EV fire-insurance as a safety condition, and includes measures to prevent fraudulent claims (excluding nominal family transfers). Public feedback on the draft guideline will be collected before finalizing national subsidy amounts and notifying local governments for implementation.
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