Scholars urge expanded subsidies to calm Korea's 'EV-phobia'

Scholars, think tanks and consumer groups urged the government to offer expanded subsidies for EVs in a desperate move to calm the public’s snowballing fear of EVs.

Kang Nam-hoon, chairman of the Korea Automobile & Mobility Industry Alliance, speaks during a forum dedicated to discussing ways to boost EV sales held at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on Wednesday. [KOREA AUTOMOBILE & MOBILITY ASSOCIATION]

Scholars, think tanks and consumer groups urged the government to offer expanded subsidies for EVs in a desperate move to calm the public’s snowballing fear of EVs triggered by a recent Mercedes EV explosion in early August.

“Incentives for EV purchases must be expanded, at least temporarily, for three years, in order to protect Korea’s EV industry from falling [into an] indefinite slump,” said Kwon Oh-chan, a senior researcher at the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association (KAMA), during a forum held to discuss ways to boost EV sales at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on Wednesday.

“If the market slump continues with today's widespread fear over EV fire risk, it will definitely negatively impact Korea’s goal to clean cars in line with carbon neutrality and increase the company’s burden for EV investment.”

The forum, jointly hosted by the Korea Automobile & Mobility Industry Alliance and four consumer organizations, invited some 15 academic scholars, lawyers, and governmental officials to discuss ways to encourage EV sales that have been underperforming since last year.

Kwon also criticized the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s latest policies advising EV owners to charge no more than 90 percent to enter underground parking lots and apply an 80 percent charging limit at rapid chargers in public parking areas.

“Such rules no more than add societal confusion so must be abandoned,” Kwon said. “More extended discount programs for EV chargers can be a good option at the moment.”

Kwon’s argument comes as the public’s reluctance toward EVs is surging especially after a Mercedes EQE burst into flames in an underground parking lot in an apartment complex in Incheon on Aug. 1. The massive blaze damaged 880 nearby parked vehicles and cut the electricity and water supply to around 1,600 households.

EV sales fell 30 percent in August compared to the previous month excluding sales of newly launched EVs like the EV3 and Casper Electric.

Korea’s EV market has already been suffering a demand slump since last year, with sales of EVs falling 4.3 percent on year, making it the world’s only country with a year-over-year drop.

The forum also corrected the widespread misconception that EVs have a higher probability of catching fire than gasoline cars and demanded the government expand the installment of sprinklers to avoid massive-scale blazes.

“There is no scientific evidence that EVs are more vulnerable to fire than gasoline cars; only 1.12 units per 10,000 EVs caught fire in 2022, compared to 1.84 cars out of 10,000 internal combustion engine vehicles,” said Na Yong-woon, a researcher at the National Fire Research Institute.

“Of 63 fire cases that occurred in an underground parking lot, only six cases had sprinklers that worked properly,” Na said. “In the case of EVs, it’s very important for a fire to be put out in its early stage, so technology advancements in thermal cameras and battery management systems are urgently needed.”

The KAMA and Korea Automobile Environmental Association, on Wednesday, inked a partnership promising cooperation in discovering ways to expand EV sales, co-research on technologies to prevent fires and the boosting of overseas sales of domestically manufactured EVs.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]