South Korea to Boost Vehicle Fuel Economy Standards
04 June 2009
Yonhap. South Korea plans to raise the fuel economy of locally-made vehicles to surpass future requirements being by the US and Japan, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE). Korea’s fuel efficiency standards are already slated to increase 16.5% in 2012 from the current levels.
New passenger cars sold within the country in 2008 ran an average of 11.47 kilometers per liter of fuel (27 mpg US, 8.7 L/100km)—up from 11.04 km/L (26 mpg US, 9.1 L/100km) recorded in 2007.
This current improvement in fuel efficiency is attributable mainly to increasing sales of lightweight vehicles and small cars, as well as to advances in engine and parts technologies, according to MKE.
South Korea enacted fuel economy standards in 2006 for domestic cars and in 2009 for imported cars with sales of less than 10,000 vehicles. Companies manufacturing or importing more than 10,000 vehicles per year are subject to US CAFE standards.
Standards as strict as those of advanced countries are likely to be in place by 2015 and 2020, MKE said.
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