Korea has such a tiny EV market. Why is China pushing to break in?

This article is by Sarah Chea and read by an artificial voice.

[NEWS ANALYSIS]
Following BYD's bold entry into the Korean market, a cadre of Chinese EV brands like Zeekr, Changan and even Xpeng are now eyeing Korea as their next destination - even if it means absorbing losses to gain a foothold.
While their go-to-market strategy seems to rely heavily on "low price," here's the paradox: Korea represents only a tiny fraction of the global EV market, with just 120,000 EVs sold annually in the country, making it roughly one-hundredth the size of China's own, or far smaller than one-tenth of the United States'.
Experts observe that it is closely intertwined with China's broader bid for global legitimacy, driven by a mounting pushback from the United States and Europe, which have imposed tariffs up to 100 percent on China-made EVs.
Liu Xueliang, general manager of the automaker's Asia-Pacific auto sales division, said, "We don't have a specific sales target for the Korean market, but we simply hope consumers will take the time to experience BYD and assess its value for themselves," during the launch of the Atto 3 EV in Korea in January.
In fact, BYD set the sticker price of the Atto 3 in Korea at 31.5 million won ($22,800), which drops to around 29.9 million won after government subsidies. That same model sells for 38,000 euros ($44,000) in Europe, 4.5 million yen ($30,400) in Japan, and 899,900 baht ($27,800) in Thailand.
The sticker price of Seal, which was introduced in July, has been set at 46.9 million won, around 8 million won cheaper than Australia's price of 61,990 Australian dollars ($40,400) and some 10 million won cheaper than Japan's 6.05 million yen.

Blocked by the West, Korea emerges as a detour
With China's once-booming domestic market showing clear signs of saturation, the country now finds itself in a position where exports are no longer optional, but imperative for sustaining growth and industrial momentum.
But hemmed in by tariff wars with the United States and Europe, China is targeting the Asia-Pacific region - and Korea, in this strategic maneuver, could be a fitting and effective gateway.
Sales of Chinese cars reached 31.43 million units last year, a 4.5 percent increase from the previous year. But of that growth, domestic sales only inched up by 1.6 percent, while exports jumped by 19.3 percent - indicating that Chinese automobile brands are increasingly relying on exports as a primary engine of growth - a shift that appears not only strategic, but inevitable.
But China remains shut out of the U.S. market, the world's second-largest auto market with annual sales of 16 million units, due to strict export restrictions. U.S. President Donald Trump raised tariffs on Chinese EVs from 25 percent to 100 percent, while the European Union also upped the tariffs from 10 percent to 45.3 percent starting in October last year.

"Chinese EV exports to Korea are up significantly in 2025, and this is partially a story of trade diversion, as their exports to the EU have fallen significantly since the latter's introduction of tariffs in late October," Joe Webster, senior fellow at the Global Energy Center of the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank focused on promoting trans-Atlantic cooperation and international security, told the Korea JoongAng Daily.
"But there may be more than one element at play. Chinese EV manufacturers and battery original equipment manufacturers have an interest in crushing foreign competitors and establishing a global monopoly, by price-undercutting Korean EV manufacturers and battery players - perhaps China's most capable rivals."
Chinese EV exports to Korea hit an all-time high of 29,295 units in the first half of the year, or $808.8 million, according to data from the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China. In terms of units, that's around a 31 percent jump from the first half of 2024.

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