Korean mid-aged consumers drive sales of home-grown EV brands

[Source: Hyundai Motor Co.]

Korea¡¯s major buyers of home-grown electric vehicles (EVs) are those in their 50s and 60s as opposed to market speculation that young people in their 30s and 40s would prefer EVs. The middle-aged buyers picked domestic EVs, giving high scores to low maintenance costs, low road noise and comfortable ride.

According to car data tracker CarIsYou on Thursday, Korean buyers in their 60s bought 9,807 units of Ioniq 5, accounting for 36.7 percent of 26,712 units sold by Hyundai Motor for the first eight months of the year. The percentage rose to 62.4 percent when 6,866 vehicles purchased by 50-something buyers were counted. Middle-aged buyers in their 50s and 50s also preferred Kia EV6. They took 52.8 percent of the brand¡¯s EV6 sales or 17,959 units during the same period.

Based on the data, the automobile industry interprets that EV6 and Ioniq 5 contributed to extending the age brackets for the EV market to middle-aged consumers, who are accustomed to domestic brands, Hyundai and Kia, and also attracted by reasonable prices. Another merit to middle-aged buyers is savings in fuel costs.

On the other hand, younger buyers in their 30s and 40s were found to prefer foreign EV brands, such as Tesla and Polestar, sold online only in Korea. They accounted for 79.7 percent of Tesla Model Y and 66.3 percent of Mercedes-Benz EQA sales.

[¨Ï Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]