In South Korea, since January this year, company car drivers have been forced to drive around with green license plates. And that has caused sales to plummet.
Sales of particularly expensive imported cars have plummeted in South Korea.
In the course of the first two months of 2024, sales of the cars have shrunk by as much as 80 percent. And if you ask the drivers, it is due to the new green number plates, which have been a requirement since 1 January.
The green license plates with black characters must be on imported company cars that have cost more than 80 million won. This corresponds to 430,000 Danish kroner.
This is written by The Korea Herald .
Overall, however, sales of imported cars have also fallen. The South Korean automobile importers' trade association, The Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, reports that imports of automobiles have fallen by 19.4 percent in the course of the first months of 2024.
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This means that sales of imported cars are at their lowest level since 2013. The Korea Herald reports that every third new car in South Korea cost more than DKK 430,000 last year. But it will look somewhat different now.
– To make matters worse, the new rules also prevent the more expensive car brands from increasing their already declining sales here, says an anonymous car dealer to the Korea Times.
However, the number plates themselves are not the whole reason. It is at least as much the thought behind them that causes sales to fall.
The green license plates also symbolize that the government in South Korea has closed a tax loophole, which for 1 January 2024 meant that the country's company drivers received up to 8 million won in tax rebates per year. That tax rebate is now gone.
It is not only in South Korea that the government is tightening its grip on motorists. It also happens at home. On 1 January, the price of both diesel and petrol rose due to a 15-year-old tax agreement.
However, the so-called 'spring package' is not the only punishment for motorists. Because in just a few months, the Danish government will impose an additional tax on fuel. Read more about it here.
Read more exciting news from and about the world of cars right here!
