Electric vehicles (EVs) made in China accounted for over one third of all EVs sold in South Korea in the first half of 2026, Yonhap News Agency reported on Tuesday.
The report, citing the latest analysis released Tuesday by the Korea Automobile and Mobility Association (KAMA), said registrations of Chinese-built EVs totaled 69,513 from January through June, jumping 178.7 percent compared with the same period last year.
This sharp growth pushed their share of the South Korean EV market to 35 percent in the January-June period from 26.8 percent a year earlier, the report said.
The surge was driven largely by strong inflows of Tesla Model Y and Model 3 vehicles produced at the company's gigafactory in China's Shanghai, while lower-priced models from China's leading EV maker BYD and Chinese-made premium vehicles of Swedish EV maker Polestar also contributed to the increase, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Chinese production also reshaped the broader imported-car market in South Korea. Between January and June, registrations of vehicles manufactured in China surged by nearly 128 percent year over year to reach 79,444 units. This gave China a 41.2-percent share by country of manufacture and pushes it past Germany to become the top source of imports for the first time, the report said.
EVs made in China dominate South Korean market in Jan-June: media
China's six-member wushu taolu team began its Asian Games campaign on Sunday, the first full day of competition at the 20th Asian Games, with five athletes making their debut.
Wushu at the Games is divided into taolu, which features choreographed martial arts routines, and sanda, a full-contact fighting discipline. The taolu competition runs from Sunday through Wednesday, Sept. 20-23, at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall in Nagoya, Japan.
The squad has completed two familiarization sessions at the venue and will contest in six of the eight taolu medal events, skipping the men's and women's Changquan, or long-fist, competitions.
The six athletes are aged from 25 to 35. Tong Xin is the only member with previous Asian Games experience.
"Apart from Tong Xin, who competed at the Hangzhou Asian Games, the remaining five athletes are making their Asian Games debuts. They are leading athletes from their provincial teams and seasoned competitors who have been tested at major events, including world championships and World Cups," said Li Qiang, head coach of China's wushu taolu team.
While the Asian Games will be new to most of the squad, their competition routines are not. The athletes have been refining them for more than three years, and in some cases for a decade.
"A wushu saying goes: 'Practice a form a thousand times, and the technique will come naturally.' After honing a movement day after day, year after year, our understanding of it and our feel for it change. Another saying is 'strive for perfection.' That is why we spend 10 years working on a single movement," said Li Jianming, a member of the team.
China's wushu team opens Asian Games campaign with five debutants
China's wushu team opens Asian Games campaign with five debutants
