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On Aug. 8, 2024, officials from police, fire authorities, the National Forensic Service, and Mercedez-Benz conduct a second forensic analysis of the electric vehicle that caused a fire in the underground parking garage of an apartment complex in Incheon on Aug. 1. (Yonhap)

With recent blazes sounding alarm bells about the fire hazards of electric vehicles in Korea, the number of EVs hitting the domestic used car market has soared over the past week. Demand has waned while supply has increased, leading to a fall in used EV prices. 

K Car, a used car sales platform, stated Sunday that during the seven days after a Mercedes-Benz EQE caught fire in an Incheon apartment’s underground parking lot, the number of applications for at-home pickups of EVs to be listed for sale on its platform has increased 184% compared to July 25-31.

Cars belonging to the Mercedes-EQ series, like the model that erupted into flames, accounted for 10% of used EVs being put on the market in the same period. Considering that zero Mercedes-EQ models had been listed for sale on the platform one week prior, this increase in owners selling off the cars is seen as likely owing to jitters over the possibility of their vehicle catching fire. 

Online used car sale platform Encar reported that a total of 13 Mercedes EQEs were put up for sale on their platform between Aug. 1-8 alone, a significant increase from the five listed for sale in the month prior.

The increase in supply and withering of demand means that used EVs are also fetching lower prices on the used market. According to market price trends for August 2024 published by Encar, used Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 models are going for 1.97% and 1.11% less upon resale, respectively, as compared to July. Meanwhile, Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y have seen prices fall 2.61% and 3.36%, respectively, demonstrating a greater-than-average dip in prices for used imported vehicles. 

With the recent fire scare coming amid the ongoing “chasm” in EV adoption since late last year, Korea’s auto industry is concerned about a rapid cool in demand. Data from CarIsYou showed a total of 80,613 EVs registered in January through July of this year, down 13.4% from the same period in 2023. 

By Choi Woo-ri, staff reporter

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