By Lee Hyo-sik
Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors will offer up to a 1.2 million won ($1,000) subsidy to old diesel car owners who purchase new vehicles, the automakers said Sunday.
Under the subsidy program to replace aged diesel cars with new ones, Hyundai and Kia will offer the cash back to motorists driving diesel-engine cars which have been on the road for more than 10 years.
Old diesel-engine cars have been blamed as a main culprit for the country’s worsening fine dust pollution. The government decided to cut the consumption tax levied on new cars by 70 percent, or by up to 1 million won, for motorists trading their old diesel cars for new ones.
“In line with the government campaign to reduce the number of diesel vehicles on the road, we decided to provide incentives, encouraging diesel car owners to replace their vehicles,” a Hyundai Motor Group spokesman said. “This is the best opportunity for them to buy a wide range of our models at cheaper prices.”
Hyundai and Kia said it will offer 1.2 million cash back to people purchasing the Ioniq and other hybrid cars. Those who purchase other conventional gasoline and diesel cars will receive subsidies ranging from 300,000 won to 700,000 won.