<Anchor> This is a
friendly economic time. Today (1st) I will be with reporter Kim Hye-min. Does Tesla now even sell used cars directly?
<Reporter>
Originally, Tesla was selling used cars directly in the United States. However, it will start to be sold directly from the end of next month in Korea as well.
The manufacturer directly buys a used car. Selling after inspection is called the 'certified used car business', and customers can now buy used cars from Tesla.
We treat all models sold by Tesla as certified used cars. In addition, it is expected to mainly sell cars with a mileage of less than 70,000 km.
Tesla started selling electric vehicles in Korea in 2017, so it's time for used car sales to pile up quite a bit.
Not only Tesla, but most imported car brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW are also working in the certified used car business in Korea. From the standpoint of automakers, brand credibility can be managed.
Also, since the used car market has grown these days, the business itself has enough business potential. From January to July of this year, used car sales were 1.4 times higher than new car sales.
<Anchor> From a
consumer's point of view, I think there are quite a few consumers who welcome certified used cars like this.
<Reporter>
In fact, certified used cars are a bit more expensive. Despite these shortcomings, consumer purchases are increasing, because automakers transparently disclose vehicle status and maintenance details.
When I buy a used car from a general used car company, I worry about being scammed or hard selling.
In fact, just last May, a man went to buy a used car and was forced to buy it, so he even took out a loan. There were even cases where they could not bear the financial burden and took their own lives.
Used car buying continues, and while imported car makers are already selling used cars directly, only domestic car makers are not yet able to directly sell used cars. That's why people say that this is not reverse discrimination.
<Anchor>
This kind of talk came out quite appropriately. But recently, Hyundai. Domestic automakers are representative. Hyundai is negotiating with the used car industry. There was also talk like this, but did the result come out?
<Reporter>
In conclusion, yesterday's social consensus finally failed. In Korea, large corporations such as automobile manufacturers were fundamentally blocked from entering the used car market.
However, as this deadline expired in early 2019, Hyundai and Kia Motors started selling used cars, but the used car industry has been fiercely opposed to this.
The two sides have been negotiating since last year, and this year, the ruling party arbitrated for three months.
So, first of all, we have reached an agreement to allow manufacturers to enter the used car market in stages.
Hyundai-Kia Motors' market share will be gradually expanded by 2% every year, 3% this year and 5% next year. However, the two sides were widely divided on the details of the issue.
In addition, the used car industry has banned Hyundai from directly purchasing used cars, and the used car industry has even demanded that the sales rights of new cars be removed by the reduced transaction volume.
<Anchor>
Negotiation does not seem so easy in this kind of situation. If this happens, domestic consumers will not be able to buy used cars that are sold directly to Hyundai and Kia. for now.
<Reporter> In
fact, the ruling party, who has been mediating this, will negotiate behind the scenes if you give it an additional week or two. I am saying this. If an agreement is still not reached, the government will have to deal with this in the future.
Two years ago, the used car industry applied for designation of used car sales as a subsistence type of business for small businesses, but the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, which is the responsible department, has not reached a conclusion that the review period should exceed one year.
It seems that they have been waiting for the ruling party's arbitration so far, but if the negotiations fail, it is difficult for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to delay the decision any longer.
In addition, in this agreement, considering only the positions of both sides, discussions about improving opaque trading practices for consumers or concerns about price hikes were all omitted.
Even experts who participated in the arbitration said, "It was an atmosphere where it was impossible to talk about consumer rights and interests."
The agreement was started to protect consumers, but there are concerns that the most important thing may be missed in the rice bowl fight between the two sides.