SEOUL - A mass sell-off of electric vehicles (EV) has begun in South Korea, following a fire involving a Mercedes-Benz EV in Incheon that destroyed more than 140 cars and sparked proposals to restrict EVs’ access to underground parking lots. Since the fire on Aug 1, the market has been flooded with used EVs. K Car, South Korea’s second-largest used car trading platform, reported an 184 per cent increase in used EV listings in the first week of August compared to the final week of July.
The Mercedes-Benz EQE series, which includes the standard EQE 300, the EQE 350+ - the exact model involved in the fire - along with its high-performance AMG counterpart and the EQE SUV, has been especially hard hit by the market’s reaction. Following the incident, over 100 EQE models have appeared on SK Encar, Korea’s top used car trading platform, pushing the total number of EQE vehicles for sale to 115 as of Aug 16. As a result, prices for these luxury electric vehicles have taken a nosedive.
Prior to the fire, used EQE models typically sold for 60 million won (S$58,600) to 70 million won. Now, some certified pre-owned 2023 EQE 300 models are listed for as low as 59 million won, a significant drop from their original selling price of 92 million. The fallout from the Incheon fire is exacerbating an already tough year for EV makers in South Korea.
Automakers are now rolling out aggressive promotions to counter the growing consumer reluctance to buy EVs. Hyundai Motors has recently start.