In the first quarter of this year, the proportion of domestically registered diesel cars fell below 10 percent for the first time. As more consumers in South Korea avoid diesel cars due to decarbonization regulations and the need to import urea for them mainly from China, the decline in sales is expected to accelerate this year.

According to data from the Carisyou data research institute, a total of 39,939 diesel vehicles were registered in the domestic market during the first quarter of this year, marking a 55.7 percent decrease from the same period last year, at 88,154.

This figure accounted for 9.7 percent of the total number of vehicle registrations

The share of diesel vehicles in the total number of registrations has been declining steadily, from 47.9 percent in 2016 to 17.6 percent in 2023.