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These days, the American electric vehicle Tesla has been prominent on the road. Is it because of Tesla's sprint that is rapidly eroding the Korean market, simply because of subsidies for EVs?

Reporter Kim Hye-min was covered.

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Kim Ji-seok, 45, who recently bought a US Tesla Model 3 after driving a domestic electric car for three years.

There was a perception that it was difficult to charge due to the high price burden, but it was a response that it was satisfactory.

[Kim Ji-seok/Gunpo-si, Gyeonggi-do: On the surface, it's only expensive, and why you want to buy it, but if you experience it, it's a little different.]

Tesla, which had been neglected in the Korean market until last year, was different this year.

While Tesla's Model 3, released in the first half of this year, sold more than 6,800 units in Korea, sales of Hyundai's Kona and Kia's Niro have decreased compared to last year.

Tesla Model 3 sells better than its predecessors because of its relatively low price and subsidies of over 10 million won.

There have also been complaints that American electric vehicles will wipe away the taxes paid by the people.

However, the amount of subsidies paid to domestic cars is not much different.

[Lee Min-woo/Director of the Ministry of Industry and Automotive Affairs of the Ministry of Industry: Any claim to differentially subsidize electric vehicles for domestic cars and imported cars may be subject to import substitution subsidies prohibited by the WTO, so it needs to be carefully reviewed.]

There is a bubble in technology . The domestic industry is also tense with the progress of the American electric car.

The key is the competitiveness of the product itself beyond the price.

[Kim Pil-soo/Professor, Daelim University, Department of Automotive Engineering: (Consumers) Choose a car with comprehensive parts such as luxury, price, fuel economy, and innovation icons… .]

From the beginning of next year when a new model of a domestic electric vehicle is scheduled to be released, it is expected that the competition for the Korean market will be inevitable.