South Korea: New emissions regulations for light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles 

 

South Korea has published updates to its emissions regulations for light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles. 

There are: 

• Draft partial amendment of the Public Notice on Corporate Average Energy Efficiency Standards, Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards for Motor Vehicles and Application and Management of the Standards 

• Draft partial amendment of the Guidelines on Corporate Average Energy Efficiency Standards, Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards for Heavy-Duty Commercial Vehicles and the Application and Management of the Standards 

• Draft Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Clean Air Conservation Act 

The main points of the first one are: 

1) Strengthening of the annual corporate average energy efficiency(fuel economy) and greenhouse gas emission standards from 2027 to 2030. 

2) Amending the criteria for small-scale manufacturers from the previous threshold of 4,500 or fewer vehicles sold in 2009 to an arithmetic average sales volume of 10,000 or fewer vehicles between 2023 and 2025. 

3) Classifying manufacturers with and arithmetic average sales volume of 50,000 or fewer vehicles between 2023 and 2025 as medium-scale manufacturers, and G/TBT/N/KOR/0000 – 2 – applying relaxed corporate average energy efficiency(fuel economy) or greenhouse gas emission standards to them. 

4) Specifying separate sales performance multiplier values per vehicles for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles from 2027 to 2029, and allowing greenhouse gas emission reductions to be deducted and counted toward performance for hybrid electric vehicles from 2027 to 2029. 

5) Establishing a legal basis to reflect technologies capable of reducing indirect greenhouse gas emissions-was recognized by the MCEE-into the calculation of compliance performance. 

6) Providing a 5-year deficit repayment period, applicable exclusively to compliance performance from 2027 to 2030. 

The second one is: 

1) Establishing new average corporate average energy efficiency(fuel economy) and greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty commercial vehicles taking effect from 2026 onward. 

2) Establishing a new obligation to repay deficits starting from the 2027 performance year. 

The third one is mandating compliance with greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles. 

To find you more about the details of the regulations as well as automotive compliance in South Korea, do not hesitate to contact the Institute for Global Automotive Regulatory Research.