Korea sees fewer electric motorcycles on limited driving range, charging

D&A Motors Ltd.’s electric motorcycle, EM-1S. [Courtesy of D&A Motors]

Demand for electric motorcycles has declined in South Korea in line with slowed growth in the overall electric vehicle (EV) market.

According to data from the Ministry of Environment on Thursday, the execution rate of subsidies for the purchase of electric two-wheelers for the public by 161 local governments stood at 23.8 percent as of Thursday, which is in stark contrast to 90.9 percent last year.

Out of the 12,946 units announced by local authorities as supplies for the public, only 3,078 units applied for subsidies. Daegu Metropolitan City, for example, which had the highest announced quantity of 1,495 units in the country, received subsidy applications for only 102 units, or 6.8 percent.

Seoul Metropolitan City, faced with low demand for subsidies for electric motorcycles, decided not to add to its supply in the second half of the year and maintain the 980 units it announced in the first half of the year.

The lackluster demand for electric motorcycles is attributed to their limited driving range, inconvenient charging conditions, and reduced subsidies.

Electric motorcycles have less than half the range of their internal combustion engine counterparts on a single charge.

The Honda PCX, a small gasoline-powered scooter, for instance, can travel over 300 kilometers on a full tank. On the other hand, D&A Motors Ltd.’s EM-1S, a similar-sized electric motorcycle model, has a range of only 55.5 kilometers per charge.

Electric motorcycles require the standard household voltage of 220 Volt for charging. Users have to pay for electricity usage to either use public charging stations in apartment basement parking lots or charge the battery indoors after removing the battery.

A full charge takes 4 to 6 hours. Frequent charging and discharging can lead to decreased battery performance, resulting in even shorter driving ranges.

This year’s subsidies for electric motorcycles average around 1.8 million won ($1,365), excluding battery replacement models, which is 13 percent lower than last year’s amount of 2.07 million won.