Jeju Special Self-Governing Province confirmed that 3,608 units of electric vehicles are registered as of September 30, 2016, with the number taking up over 1% of its total registered vehicles. In celebration of this phenomenal occasion, the Province declared a new initiative entitled “The Era of Electric Vehicle 2.0” on October 4, 2016.

Jeju Special Self-Governing Province plans this year to have the number of its electric vehicles surpass 4,000. As of September 30, 2016, the number of operational electric vehicles registered in Jeju hit 3,608.

The number of Jeju’s electric vehicles accounts for more than 1% of its total 348,324 vehicles (excluding those for rental which are registered in other regions and provinces). This is a highly significant accomplishment, given that the national ratio of electric vehicles in the Republic of Korea still remains at the modest 0.03% level.

※ Number of registered electric vehicles (as of September 30, 2016): 8,071 in Korea, 3,608 in Jeju (Jeju’s share nears 45% of the nation’s total.)

Number of registered vehicles (as of late September, 2016): 21,618,707 (The share of EVs slightly surpassed 0.037%.)

Jeju Province plans to achieve its goal of 4,000 units of registered electric vehicles within this year. It will then have up to 2% of its remaining general automobiles be replaced by electric vehicles by the first quarter of 2017, and up to 4-5% by the end of the same year.

The newly-announced initiative, the Era of Electric Vehicle 2.0, aims to upgrade the provincial policies on distributing electric vehicles.

The initiative will transform the fundamentals of the policies from subsidizing electric car buying to prioritizing EV infrastructures, ecosystems, culture, and tourism, and from the public-led projects to the so-called ‘Open Innovation’ which is based on the attention and engagement of the EV users.

Starting from 2017, Jeju Province will take a stepwise approach to reduce subsidies for EV buying, secure the best-optimized charging infrastructures, authorize the residents of multi-unit dwellings to freely install and use EV chargers, and compel new multi-unit dwellings and neighborhood living facilities to install charging infrastructures.

Starting from September 28, 2016, all public parking facilities must have at least 10% of exclusive EV parking spaces and receive no fees on EV parking. Jeju Province has since worked to strengthen its EV ecosystem by allowing its citizens to use the Province-run charging infrastructures at no cost, providing mobile applications on locating the charging spots, and installing signposts for them.

The Province now plans to further promote the use of electric vehicles as its cultural and tourist-oriented products. In this context, it will create the Fun Fun EV Road for EV drivers, designate exclusive EV routes for the Olle Trail, and establish charging infrastructures based on renewable energy. It will also regularize forums and festivals for EV users to apply its user-friendly policy, Open Innovation.

According to the Province, 100% of its 3,608 registered electric vehicles get their driving force from the sources of clean, renewable energy.

※ Total annual power consumption by 3,608 EVs amounts to 6,370,000kWh (as of IONIQ EV).

As of 2015, the power capacity of renewable energy sources stays at the 447,200,000kWh level (or the replacement ratio of 9.33%).

In the Jeju International Electric Vehicle Expo next year, Jeju Province will share its policies and experiences with the local governments of other regions in Korea to create a model for networking and cooperation. Meanwhile, it will double its effort to protect its clean environment and utilize the EV industry as its new growth engine by upgrading its EV initiative to the Era of the Electric Vehicle 2.0.