Diesel vehicles have always been unpopular in the Chinese market, but in foreign countries, diesel engines have also been popular for a while. Among them, Europe and South Korea have been particularly popular diesel engines, and even the market share can exceed 50%. However, with the development of the times, today's diesel engine models have not been as good as before, taking the Korean market as an example, users are gradually shifting from diesel models to hybrid models.
Photo note: Sorento hybrid in the Korean market
According to the data, the sales volume of new energy vehicles in the Korean market in 2021 was 347,738 units, an increase of 54.5% year-on-year. Among them, the sales volume of gasoline-electric hybrid models reached 222,869 units, accounting for 64.1%.
Hybrids have almost completely replaced diesel cars. Diesel models in the past were very popular because of high torque, excellent initial acceleration, good fuel efficiency and low maintenance costs due to low oil prices. However, it is also necessary to endure shortcomings such as excessive vibration and noise, as well as difficult maintenance over time. However, the advent, development and complement of hybrid models have contributed to these deficiencies.
Picture note: Kia K5 hybrid in the Korean market
When the motor is added, it provides torque similar to that of a diesel engine. In the beginning, it can start smoothly and accelerate vigorously like an electric car with only motor and battery movement. Thanks to this, fuel efficiency is also better than diesel, so the overall maintenance costs are not much different. On the other hand, when the motor and battery are included in an already quiet gasoline engine, it becomes quieter. Of course, the vibration is less. And the structure of oil-electric hybrid is simpler than that of plug-in hybrid or electric vehicles, so oil-electric hybrid models are popular.
According to the data line, the proportion of diesel vehicles in the Korean market fell from 44.7% in 2015 to 15.4% in 2021. Not only did sales decline, but the number of models sold was gradually decreasing.
As far as Local Korean models are concerned, the sedan market immediately changed dramatically. The diesel sedan was gone. In 2018, Hyundai discontinued diesel models from Azun, Sonata and Elantra, and Renault Samsung excluded the SM3 diesel model from its lineup. In 2019, the Renault Samsung SM6 diesel model disappeared, and the 2020 Diesel models of the K7, Steger, and Chevrolet Malibu were removed from the website. In 2021, the Geniseys G70 and G80 diesel models also disappeared, ending the era of Korean diesel cars.
So let's take a look at how many hybrids are in the main sedan models in the Korean market in 2021?
Sonata Hybrid, a total of 45,833 units were sold, of which 7436 were Hybrid, accounting for 16.2%
K5 hybrid, of the 59,499 vehicles, 10,800 vehicles are hybrid, accounting for 18.2%
Of hyundai's 89,084 vehicles, 26,977 were hybrid, accounting for 30.3%.
Of the 4,599 kia K8s sold, 16,288 hybrids, accounting for 40.1%.
Unexpectedly, on larger models such as the Yazun and K8, the mixed choice has a much higher proportion than that of Sonata and K5.
Photo note: Hyundai Motor Group's 1.6T turbocharged engine hybrid system.
Even in the SUV market, where diesel engines are used more, the proportion of hybrid vehicles is high. Tucson, Sportage, Shengda and Sorento have also joined the high-efficiency hybrids after kia Niro and have become a trend. Based on full-year sales figures for 2021.
Of the 32,022 vehicles sold, 7,576 were hybrids, accounting for 23.2%
Tucson, of the 48,376 vehicles, 15,572 were hybrids, accounting for 32.2%
In Sorento, of the 69,934 vehicles, 32,982 were hybrids, accounting for 47.2%.
Shengda, of the 41,600 vehicles, 9706 are hybrids, accounting for 23.3%.
As with cars, in the SUV market, Sorento and Shengda have a higher hybrid market share than Sportage and Tucson. I think this is thanks to Hyundai's latest hybrid system based on a 1.6 turbocharged engine.
The share of diesel models in the imported car market is close to 70%, which has now plummeted to 14%.
In the imported car market, de-dieselization is happening faster. The share of diesel has shrunk from 68.8% in 2015 to 14.1% in 2021. On the one hand, South Korea has stepped up its environmental protection audits of imported diesel engine models. Hybrids, on the other hand, increased significantly, from 4% to 26.6%. Hybrid cars here do not include plug-in hybrids.
Figure note: Toyota hybrid chassis structure
Toyota and Lexus have played an important role in this regard. Unlike other brands that have transitioned to pure electric vehicles after a brief plug-in hybrid, Toyota and Lexus have always adhered to a lineup of gasoline-electric hybrid models.
Toyota and Lexus sold 15,781 units in 2015, exceeded the 20,000 mark with 24,301 units in 2017 and reached 35,114 units in 2018. In the Korean market, 98% of Toyota-Lexus models are hybrids. In particular, ES occupies the first place in the imported hybrid market.
Photo note: The best-selling Lexus ES300h among imported hybrids in the Korean market
Toyota Hybrid has also been successful in the United States, especially last year, when Toyota overtook General Motors to take the U.S. first place. Hybrid played a very important role in the process of winning the first place. Toyota's data shows that 800,000 hybrids were sold last year alone.
But fortunately, in the Korean market, Hyundai Kia's hybrid model is enough to compete with the Toyota hybrid model.
South Korea's latest Kia Niro has the highest fuel efficiency among domestic SUVs, reaching 20.8 km/l.
The biggest advantage of the hybrid is that it uses a small motor and battery to produce the highest efficiency. The hybrid battery is about 1.5 kWh, which is really small compared to an electric car of 70-80 or 100 kWh. The price is cheap, the fuel efficiency improvement effect is large, it is not easy to fail, and it is less troubled by environmental problems such as waste batteries.
Toyota said three hybrids have the same carbon-reducing effect as one electric vehicle. It is not possible to immediately convert all cars to electric vehicles. The increase in sales of hybrid vehicles has helped to reduce carbon emissions even more.
Photo note: There is also a Ka Wah hybrid in the Korean market
The market is too optimistic about the development of new energy vehicles. There has been talk in the past that plug-in hybrids will become mainstream within a decade as a link between the internal combustion engine and electric vehicles. In 4-5 years, the era of electric vehicles will arrive sooner than expected, after which hydrogen vehicles will develop symbiotically with electric vehicles and expand their market share.
But the reality is that the internal combustion engine still sells well. The share of electric vehicles has not grown faster than expected. With the improvement of manufacturing, new changes in social infrastructure such as charging, and consumer perception, users' acceptance of pure electric vehicles is not so fast. The development of hybrid vehicles is actually extending the vitality of the internal combustion engine.