According to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, growing number of young Koreans in their 20s and 30s do not see the need to own a brand-new car. Compared to 2017, the purchase rate of new cars decreased more than 26 percent. Even used-car purchases in those age groups declined 15.2 percent. Industry insiders speculate that this trend may remain even when they grow older. This is perhaps the result of car-sharing apps making it easier to pick one up for essential trips and cars being more widely seen as contributing to climate change.

Highway vehicles release about 1.4 billion tons of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere each year—mostly in the form of carbon dioxide (CO₂)—contributing to global climate change. Each gallon of gasoline you burn creates 20 pounds of GHG. That's roughly 5 to 9 tons of GHG each year for a typical vehicle. So, what can we do to reduce GHG? First, we need to choose a car with better gas mileage. We also need to use a low-carbon fuel, such as ethanol or CNG, or purchase green power for your electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid.

In the case of the electric vehicle, it will produce more global warming emissions than the average gasoline vehicle in the manufacturing process because electric cars’ large lithium-ion batteries require a lot of materials and energy to build. However, once the vehicles are on the road, electric vehicles make up for their higher manufacturing emissions within 18 months of driving — and continue to outperform gasoline cars until the end of their lives. So, when the young prospective consumers do consider buying a car in the future, they should definitely try out the electric vehicles.