Electronics retailers, including Lotte Himart and ETLand, are all set to sell electric vehicles and related products, according to industry sources Wednesday.

They noted that the electronics goods distributor of retail giant Lotte Group is waiting for shareholders’ approval to enter the EV business. It plans to establish a firm to build a sales network for midsize EVs.

Lotte Himart is reportedly negotiating with some EV makers, including Renault Samsung. It also signed a memorandum of understanding with state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. on Tuesday, to jointly boost the EV charging business in Korea, using their distribution network nationwide.

ETLand is also working on the specifics to sell EVs and organize events to announce the launch from late March to early April, according to the sources.

The EV market in Korea is still in a nascent stage and is much smaller than China, the U.S. and European countries due in part to lack of charging stations.

By Hong Sung-pyo ()


koreaherald@heraldcorp.com