Korea: Light-Duty Vehicles

Background
Diesel Vehicles
Gasoline Vehicles
Fuel Economy and GHGs

Background

Light-duty diesel vehicles follow Euro regulations while those for gasoline vehicles follow CARB regulations. For gasoline vehicles, CARB’s Fleet Average System (FAS) for non-methane organic gases (NMOG) has been adopted.

Vehicles in South Korea are classified into five grades according to certified emission standard and fuel type, with Grade 1 being the cleanest. Except for heavy-duty diesel hybrid vehicles, diesel vehicles are excluded from Grade 1 and Grade 2. This classification identifies a vehicle’s emissions levels to support in-use emissions control programs. Examples of vehicles in the Grade 1 category include CARB LEV II and LEV III SULEVs as well as ZEVs [6339].

Diesel Vehicles

Starting 2014.01, light-duty diesel vehicles were subject to Euro 6b regulations using the NEDC test procedure, Table 1. From 2017.10, new vehicle types (2018.10 for all vehicle types) require on-road certification (RDE) testing and the WLTP test procedure (Euro 6d-TEMP).

**Table 1**
Emission standards for diesel fueled passenger cars and light and medium commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6 equivalent)
Implementation Date	Vehicle Type	Reference Weight	CO	NOx	HC+NOx	PM	PN
Implementation Date	Vehicle Type	kg	g/km				#/km
2009.09	Passenger car		0.5	0.18	0.23	0.005	–
	Light and Medium Commercial Vehicle	≤ 1305	0.5	0.18	0.23	0.005	–
		1305-1760	0.63	0.235	0.295	0.005	–
		>1760	0.74	0.28	0.35	0.005	–
2014.01	Passenger car		0.5	0.08	0.17	0.0045	6×10¹¹
	Light and Medium Commercial Vehicle	≤ 1305	0.5	0.08	0.17	0.0045	6×10¹¹
		1305-1760	0.63	0.105	0.195	0.0045	6×10¹¹
		>1760	0.74	0.125	0.215	0.0045	6×10¹¹

Emission Standards Prior to 2009. Emission standards for diesel passenger cars (< 8 seats, GVW < 2,500 kg) up to 2002 and light-duty diesel trucks (GVW < 3,000 kg) up to 2004 are listed in Table 2 and Table 3.

Emissions are tested over the US FTP-75 cycle and expressed in g/km.

**Table 2**
Emission standards for diesel passenger cars (1997-2005)
Date	CO	HC	NMHC	NOx	PM	Smoke
-	g/km					%
1993.1.1	2.11	0.25	-	0.62	0.12
1996.1.1	2.11	0.25	-	0.62	0.08
1998.1.1	1.50	0.25	-	0.62	0.08
2000.1.1	1.20	0.25	-	0.62	0.05	20%
2001.1.1	0.5	-	0.01	0.02	0.01	20%
2002.7.1	0.5	-	0.01	0.02	0.01	15%

**Table 3**
Emission standards for light-duty diesel trucks (1997-2005)
Date	CO	HC	NOx	PM
-	g/km
1993-1997
1993.1.1	980†	670†	350† IDI 750† DI	-
1996.1.1	6.21	0.50	1.43	0.31
1998 and later, LW<1,700 kg
1998.1.1	2.11	0.25	1.40	0.14
2000.1.1	2.11	0.25	1.02	0.11
2004.1.1	1.27	0.21	0.64	0.06
1998 and later, LW>1,700 kg
1998.1.1	2.11	0.50	1.40	0.25
2000.1.1	2.11	0.50	1.06	0.14
2004.1.1	1.52	0.33	0.71	0.08
LW (loaded weight) = curb weight + 130 kg † JP 6-mode test, limits expressed in ppm

Euro 4 emission standards applied to light-duty diesel vehicles and California ULEV standards to light-duty gasoline vehicles effective January 2006.

Gasoline Vehicles

Most gasoline and gas-fueled vehicles are subject to requirements equivalent to California’s NMOG and Fleet Average System (FAS). Under the FAS, carmakers can choose between different standards, each with different levels of emissions to certify their fleet to a required fleet average, Table 7. California LEV II equivalent standards were implemented in 2009 and LEV III equivalent standards in 2016, Table 4 and Table 5. In Table 4, the A and B standards are equivalent to CARB’s 50,000 mile/5 year and 120,000 mile/12 year limits. In Table 4 and Table 5, the equivalent CARB nomenclature is included in brackets, e.g., LEV, ULEV and SULEV. Gasoline and gas fueled large cars and trucks and extra-large passenger cars and trucks are subject to Euro VI equivalent engine standards, Table 6 [6343].

**Table 4**
Emissions standards for light-duty gasoline vehicles (CARB LEV II equivalent)
Implementation Date	Standard		CO	NOx	HC	HCHO	Blow-by Gas Emissions	Evaporative Emissions	Test Cycle
Implementation Date	Standard		g/km				g/cycle	g/test	Test Cycle
2009.01	Standard 1 (LEV)	A	2.11	0.031	0.047	0.009	0	2/1.2^a	CVS-75^b
	Standard 1 (LEV)	B	2.61	0.044	0.056	0.011
	Standard 2 (ULEV)	A	1.06	0.031	0.025	0.005
	Standard 2 (ULEV)	B	1.31	0.044	0.034	0.007
	Standard 3 (SULEV)		0.625	0.0125	0.00625	0.0025
	Standard 4 (ZEV)		0	0	0	0	0	0
^a 1.2 g/test effective 2013.1.1 ^b CVS-75 is identical to the FTP-75 (Federal Test Procedure 75) in the USA

**Table 5**
Emissions standards for gasoline and gas fueled light cars, small passenger cars, small trucks, medium-sized passenger cars and medium-sized trucks (CARB LEV III equivalent)
Implementation Date	Standard	CO	NMOG+NOx	HCHO	Blow-by Gas Emissions	Evaporative Emissions	Test Cycle
Implementation Date	Standard	g/km			g/cycle	g/test	Test Cycle
2016.01	Standard 1 (LEV160)	2.61	0.100	0.0025	0	0.35	CVS-75
		5.97	0.087				US06
		2.0	0.062				SC03
	Standard 2 (ULEV125)	1.31	0.078	0.0025	0	0.35	CVS-75
		5.97	0.075				US06
		2.0	0.044				SC03
	Standard 3 (ULEV70)	1.06	0.044	0.0025	0	0.35	CVS-75
		5.97	0.075				US06
		2.0	0.044				SC03
	Standard 4 (ULEV50)	1.06	0.031	0.0025	0	0.35	CVS-75
		5.97	0.075				US06
		2.0	0.044				SC03
	Standard 5 (SULEV30)	0.625	0.019	0.0025	0	0.35	CVS-75
		5.97	0.031				US06
		2.0	0.012				SC03
	Standard 6 (SULEV20)	0.625	0.0125	0.0025	0	0.35	CVS-75
		5.97	0.031				US06
		2.0	0.012				SC03
	Standard 7 (ZEV)	0	0	0	0	0	CVS-75

**Table 6**
Emissions standards for gasoline and gas fueled large cars and trucks and extra-large passenger cars and trucks (Euro VI equivalent)
Implementation Date	CO	NOx	NMHC	Blow-by	Test
2013.01.01	4.0 g/kWh	0.40 g/kWh	0.14 g/kWh	0 g/test	WHTC

**Table 7**
Fleet average NMOG+NOx (g/km) emission standards for gasoline fueled vehicles
	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Light cars, small passenger cars (excluding multipurpose motor vehicles weighing 1.7 t or more), and small trucks weighing less than 1.7 t	0.063	0.058	0.053	0.048	0.043	0.039	0.034	0.029	0.024	0.019
Small trucks weighing 1.7 t or more, medium sized trucks, medium-sized passenger cars, and multi-purpose small passenger cars weighing 1.7 t or more	0.074	0.068	0.062	0.056	0.050	0.043	0.037	0.031	0.025	0.019

Fuel Economy and GHGs

South Korea announced its first mandatory fuel economy standards in 2005. The Average Fuel Economy (AFE) program set fuel economy targets of 12.4 km/L (Gasoline equivalent: 12.1 km/L) for vehicles with an engine displacement of 1500 cm³ or less, and 9.6 km/L (Gasoline equivalent: 9.4 km/L) for vehicles with an engine displacement over 1500 cm³. Automakers were required to comply with the targets by 2006 for domestic vehicles and by 2009 for imported vehicles.

In 2009, standards were announced that required that all new cars meet a fuel economy/GHG emission target of 17.0 km/L (Gasoline equivalent: 16.7 km/L) or 140 gCO₂/km equivalent by model year (MY) 2015. Standards for light trucks were not included. The legislation was phased in over a four-year period from 2012 to 2015: 30% of cars sold by automakers were required to meet the targets by 2012, 60% by 2013, 80% by 2014, and 100% percent by 2015. Since 2012, the US Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) combined results of the CVS-75 and HWFET test cycles have been used for compliance testing. The cycles are assigned weights of 55% and 45%, respectively.

In 2014, average GHG emissions and fuel economy standards for MY 2020 light-duty vehicles were announced [6340]. The 2020 standards required light-duty vehicles to meet a fuel economy target of 24.3 km/L (Gasoline equivalent: 24.1 km/L) or a GHG target of 97 g/km for passenger cars and a fuel economy target of 15.6 km/L (Gasoline equivalent: 14.1 km/L) or a GHG target of 166 g/km for light trucks. Compared to 2013 GHG emission rates, the 2020 targets were equivalent to a 31% reduction for passenger cars and a 15% reduction for light trucks.

In 2021, standards for MYs 2021-2030 were announced [6341][6342]. Under the standards, passenger cars are required to meet a fleet average GHG emissions target of 70g/km or a fuel efficiency target of 33.1 km/L, while light trucks must meet targets of 146 g/km in GHG emissions or 17.3 km/L in fuel efficiency. The 2030 targets represent emissions reductions of 28% and 12% from a 2020 baseline for passenger cars and light trucks respectively.