Off the wire
• Sri Lanka defends de-listing of groups accused of terrorism links  • Lakers lose in Kobe's final game against Raptors  • Feature: Bangladesh's poor benefiting from domestically produced medication  • Colombia to hold Ibero-American foreign ministers conference  • Spotlight: China plays responsible role in fighting climate change, promoting African development  • Aussie agriculture output revised upwards for 2015-16 financial year  • China Voice: Booming service sector will not replace industry  • S. Korea's household debts post record monthly growth in October  • S. Korea wins approval to sell yuan-denominated sovereign bonds in China  • Canadian gov't announces tax cut to strengthen middle class  
You are here: 　 Home

S.Korea to provide 1 mln eco-friendly cars by 2020

Xinhua, December 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

South Korea's commerce ministry said Tuesday that it will provide more than 1 million eco-friendly cars by 2020 in a bid to respond to climate change and foster it as new growth engine.

The third five-year plan to develop and popularize eco-friendly vehicles was approved during the cabinet meeting chaired by President Park Geun-hye, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Under the plan, the country plans to increase the number of hybrid electric vehicles to 820,000 by 2020, electric vehicles to 200,000, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to 50,000 and fuel cell electric vehicles to 9,000 respectively.

Those eco-friendly cars have been considered as an effective tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

President Park had announced her plan to replace all cars in the southern resort island Jeju with electric vehicles as part of efforts to respond to climate change and nurture the eco-friendly car industry as new growth engine.

The eco-friendly vehicle market has grown at an average annual rate of about 20 percent in the past five years. It is expected to account for around half of the global auto industry by 2030 amid the expected tighter regulations on greenhouse gas emissions and accelerating development in eco-technology.

To popularize the eco-friendly vehicles, the government plans to spend 150 billion won (127 million U.S. dollars) in the next five years to develop competitive models that can attract consumers.

It also plans to build recharging facilities nationwide, including 1,400 stations for electric vehicles and 80 stations for hydrogen-powered cars by 2020. Enditem