The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it would replace all delivery motorcycles with electric vehicles, but it was reported on the 14th that it has been unable even to properly identify the target vehicles for five years. This is due to the government's lack of separate statistics for commercial motorcycles. Other local governments that set the same goal as Seoul appear to be in a similar situation. There are criticisms that this has been an unreasonable project from the beginning.
◇ Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon “Currently achieving 3-4%”… There is no distinction in statistics for commercial use
The reason the Seoul Metropolitan Government has pursued securing 100% electric motorcycles for commercial use is due to the increase in demand for deliveries, such as food, which has led to an increase in motorcycle usage, raising concerns about air pollution and noise. Consequently, a plan was established to gradually transition to electric vehicles starting in 2021, aiming to complete it by this year.
However, reports indicate that the achievements of the Seoul Metropolitan Government are minimal. Mayor Oh Se-hoon stated at the city council last month, “We set a symbolic target of 100%, but the current adoption rate is 3-4%.” He continued, “Next year, we aim to have 20% of all motorcycles be electric.” Essentially, the goal of converting 100% of commercial motorcycles to electric by this year has been abandoned.
Concerns have also arisen that the goal of converting 20% of commercial motorcycles to electric by next year is unrealistic. It is said to be challenging to supply nearly five times the amount of electric motorcycles secured over the past four years in the remaining time.
Fundamentally, there is an issue of not being able to determine how many commercial motorcycles exist. The government's motorcycle statistics only distinguish between 'official' and 'private' use. Since private vehicles include those for commuting and leisure, it is impossible to ascertain the number of motorcycles used for commercial purposes by individuals or businesses.
Additionally, there may be motorcycles that are typically used for commuting but are used for commercial purposes after work or on weekends. In fact, multiple posts on delivery-related online communities indicate that individuals plan to work part-time delivering food after commuting home.
A city official stated, “We believe that most of the motorcycles registered as private vehicles are being utilized for commercial purposes,” but added, “Since we cannot specifically determine how they are being used, it is realistically difficult to ascertain the exact number of commercial motorcycles.”
◇ Sejong also failed to achieve its goal last year… Siheung said, “Realistically, it is difficult to achieve”
Sejong and Siheung in Gyeonggi Province also stated they would convert all commercial motorcycles to electric. Because they cannot determine the number of commercial motorcycles, these two local governments estimated that about 10% of private motorcycles were being used for commercial purposes. They believed that replacing one in ten registered motorcycles with electric vehicles would allow them to achieve their goal. Accordingly, Sejong aimed for 1,000 electric motorcycles, while Siheung aimed for 2,000.
However, reports indicate that Sejong failed to achieve its goal. A Sejong city official said, “We aimed to secure 1,000 units by last year but were unable to do so,” adding, “It is difficult to disclose the exact number.”
Siheung's goal is to secure 2,000 units of commercial electric vehicles by next year, but as of February this year, they only secured 661 units. A Siheung official stated, “Realistically, achieving 100% conversion of commercial electric vehicles seems difficult.”
Professor Lee Ho-geun of Daedeok University’s Department of Future Automotive Engineering noted, “Local governments have promoted the unreasonable goal of '100% conversion' without even determining specific numbers,” and added, “Some local governments even provide additional subsidies when registering motorcycles for commercial use, making it impossible to prevent cases where they are purchased for commercial use but utilized for personal purposes.”