S. Korea's EV sales nearly double this year, 7th-largest worldwide

Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in South Korea almost doubled in the first three quarters of this year from a year earlier, ranking seventh in the world, data showed Monday.

A total of 71,006 EVs were sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy in the January-September period, up 96 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Automotive Technology Institute.

The figure was the seventh-largest in the world. China sold the largest number of EVs with 1.76 million units in the nine-month period, followed by the United States with 272,554, Germany with 243,892, Britain with 131,832, France with 114,836 and Norway with 84,428.

South Korea's tally accounted for 5.5 percent of all new vehicles sold in the country during the period, lower than China's 9.4 percent but higher than 2.3 percent for the US

Global EV sales came to 3.01 million units in the first nine months of the year, exceeding the 3 million mark for the first time.

South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor Group sold 159,558 EVs during the period, up 67 percent from a year ago and the fifth-highest in the world.

Tesla was the top EV seller in the world with 625,624 units, trailed by China-based SAIC Motor with 413,037, Volkswagen with 287,852 and China's BYD with 189,751. (Yonhap)