Sustained high oil prices from the prolonged Middle East conflict are sharpening the cost advantage of electric vehicles in South Korea.
Bright Energy Partners, which operates the Water fast-charging network, said on the 9th that annual upkeep for the Hyundai Ioniq 5 Long Range came to 1.11 million won and for the Tesla Model Y Long Range to 1.06 million won, based on the national average of 13,800 kilometers driven a year and combining fuel, vehicle tax and consumable replacement costs. By comparison, the Sonata 2.0 cost 2.93 million won and the Grandeur 2.5 cost 3.19 million won. Even calculated at the most expensive public charging tier, ultra-fast charging at 393.1 won, the Ioniq 5 came to 1.23 million won and the Model Y to 1.17 million won.
Ten minutes plugged into a highway ultra-fast charger adds 165 kilometers of range at a cost of 11,200 won. Covering the same distance in a Grandeur 2.5 requires 25,600 won in gasoline alone. Broken down by item, fuel and charging costs came to 940,000 won for the Ioniq 5 against 2.14 million won for the Grandeur 2.5, while vehicle tax was 130,000 won versus 650,000 won.
The gap in consumable replacement costs was also wide. The Grandeur 2.5 needs its engine oil changed nearly twice a year, along with automatic transmission fluid, an air cleaner filter and spark plugs at their respective intervals, adding up to 400,000 won a year. The Ioniq 5 needs only brake pads replaced, at 40,000 won. Those differences compound: over five years of driving under the same conditions and at highway fast-charging rates, the Ioniq 5 costs 5.54 million won and the Model Y 5.28 million won, against 15.74 million won for the Grandeur 2.5.
Internal combustion vehicles also carry greater exposure to oil price swings. If pump prices climb back to this year's high of 2,011.8 won per liter on average, annual upkeep for the Grandeur 2.5 widens to 3.36 million won. EV charging rates are not directly linked to international crude prices, so upkeep does not change when oil rises.
Compounded over five years, the gap widens further. Over a five-year holding period at highway fast-charging rates, the Ioniq 5 costs 5.54 million won and the Model Y 5.28 million won, against 15.74 million won for the Grandeur 2.5 — a cumulative difference of 10.2 million to 10.46 million won.
"Even after adding up fuel, taxes and consumables, the cost advantage of electric vehicles is clear," said Yoo Dae-won, head of the EV charging business division at Bright Energy Partners. "We confirmed with data that even when charging exclusively at the highest-output ultra-fast chargers, the cost gap with internal combustion vehicles remains very large."
Demand for EVs building
Separately, a survey found that seven in 10 drivers would consider replacing their vehicle if fuel prices moved into the 2,000-won-per-liter range. About eight in 10 of those drivers said they would look to an eco-friendly vehicle next.
According to a recent survey of 500 drivers nationwide by K Car, a used-car platform that sells directly, 72.0% of respondents said they would consider replacing their vehicle if oil prices rose.
Asked how large an increase in fuel costs would prompt that, the largest share, 35.0%, said 20% or more. On the price threshold that would trigger a switch, gasoline and hybrid owners most often cited the 2,200-won-per-liter range at 27.9%, while diesel owners most often cited the 2,000-won range at 25.0%. Rather than short-term spikes, the survey found that meaningful replacement demand emerges when high prices persist for at least six months.
Asked which fuel type they would prefer when replacing a vehicle, respondents ranked electric first at 39.2% and hybrid second at 36.8%. Combined, preference for eco-friendly vehicles reached 76.0%, suggesting that fuel costs are a key driver accelerating the shift to greener mobility.
Consumers are indeed turning to eco-friendly vehicles as oil prices surged this year amid the war between the United States and Iran. Domestic EV sales reached 198,509 units in the first half of this year, up 113.6% from a year earlier, according to the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association and new-vehicle registration data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. EVs accounted for 23.3% of the 850,636 vehicles newly registered in the first half.
