**Administrative Notice on the 2025 Electric Vehicle Purchase Subsidy Reform Plan**
The government plans to lower the price standard for fully subsidized electric vehicles from 55 million won to 53 million won. Additionally, young buyers purchasing their first electric vehicle in their lifetime will receive an additional 20% subsidy without needing to meet certain income criteria.
The Ministry of Environment announced that it would administratively announce the “2025 Electric Vehicle Purchase Subsidy Reform Plan” from the 2nd to the 10th. The key points of this reform are to favor electric vehicles with good performance and safety, and to reduce the financial burden on buyers.
Il-Young Oh, the Director of Atmospheric Environment Policy at the Ministry of Environment, explained that the differentiation of subsidies based on single-charge driving range will be strengthened, with greater reductions in subsidies for vehicles that have a range below 440 km. There will also be higher incentive payment thresholds based on charging speed to alleviate inconvenience related to driving range and charging speed.
The criteria for full subsidy support will be strengthened, with the threshold lowered from 55 million won to 53 million won. The government has designed the additional subsidy support to increase proportionally with the manufacturer’s discount amount to encourage greater discounts. This year, performance subsidies for electric passenger cars are set at a maximum of 3 million won for medium and large cars, 2.5 million won for small cars, and 2 million won for microcars, with a maximum possible subsidy of 5.8 million won.
The differentiation of subsidies based on single-charge driving range will be enforced more strictly. For vehicles with a driving range below 440 km, subsidies will be reduced, and additional subsidy payment thresholds based on charging speed have been raised. The subsidy reduction amount per 10 km will be expanded from 68,000 won to 81,000 won for medium and large cars.
To enhance battery safety, in addition to the existing on-board diagnostic device (OBDⅡ), vehicles that provide battery charging information and offer anomaly detection and alert functionality while parked will receive a safety subsidy of 500,000 won.
Furthermore, subsidies will not be granted if the car manufacturer is not subscribed to product liability insurance or if charging amount information (SOC) is not provided to both fast and slow chargers.
The previous requirement for additional support for young adults purchasing their first electric vehicle having to meet a certain income criteria will be lifted, allowing for a 20% additional subsidy. Support will also continue based on the number of children in multi-child families, with additional amounts of 1 million won for families with two children under the age of 18, 2 million won for three children, and 3 million won for four or more children.
The subsidy system for electric buses will also be revised. For large buses with a single-charge driving range of less than 500 km, the subsidy will be reduced to strengthen performance criteria related to driving range. An item providing battery safety subsidies of 10 million won will be added for supporting anomaly detection and alert functionality using battery management systems (BMS) while parked.
For large electric buses, the differential threshold will be raised to 500 km, reducing the amount by 84,000 won for ranges below 400 km and 50,000 won for the 400-500 km range per 10 km. For medium-sized buses, the threshold will be set at 400 km, with reductions of 66,000 won for ranges below 300 km and 30,000 won for the 300-400 km range per 10 km.
Similar measures will apply to electric buses, with safety coefficients set based on subscription to product liability insurance and the provision of charging amount information, along with a notice about strengthening post-management requirements.
Director Oh mentioned that subsidy amounts will be announced by car model once data is received from manufacturers, with implementation expected to be feasible by mid-January.