SEOUL, KOREA - E-Mart will become a hub of Korea's electric cars. The largest discount retailer in Korea said on September 25 that it would hold an opening ceremony for EV recharging stations on the same day at its Jukjeon location (Yongin), with representatives from BMW Korea, POSCO ICT, and the Ministry of Environment.

 

The reason E-Mart is trying to expand the EV recharging station network is based on the judgment that the demand for electric vehicles would steadily rise in the future.

 

According to the Ministry of Environment, the number of electric cars registered with the government has made a two-digit growth since 2011. The government's EV subsidy program is expected to boost the demand further. The government is currently offering up to 15 million won per vehicle, with a target to increase the EV number to 1 million by 2020. In addition, it offers tax exemption of up to 4.2 million won including excise and other taxes.

 

Despite the government's active promotion, the biggest obstacle to the market uptake has been lack of charging stations. Currently available electric cars can run only 160 kilometers in a single charge, which requires frequent recharging. Still, most charging stations in Korea are crowded in the Seoul metropolitan area (35%) and Jeju Island (29%).

 

In order to address this problem, E-Mart will open a total of 119 stations in 80 stores in 35 cities nationwide. It will make available charging facilities in other 70 stores soon. The company figures that EV charging stations would have a positive effect of increasing traffic to its stores while contributing to expanding the environmentally friendly vehicles.