Trump revokes Biden's EV mandate

[Anchor]

U.S. President Trump has declared that he will also abolish the pro-electric vehicle policies promoted by the Biden administration.

South Korea's automobile and battery industries, which have made significant investments in the U.S., are concerned about the aftershocks.

Reporter Jeong Jae-woo examines the impact on our companies.

[Report]

U.S. President Trump has announced that he will revoke all of the Biden administration's policies that provided subsidies for eco-friendly electric vehicles.

[Donald Trump/President of the United States: "We will end the Green New Deal and we will revoke the electric vehicle mandate saving our auto industry."]

He argues that the mandatory purchase of electric vehicles has distorted the market and must be abolished.

Our automobile and battery companies, which have increased local production in anticipation of subsidies, are in a state of emergency.

Last year, out of 1.7 million vehicles sold in the U.S., 120,000 were electric vehicles from Hyundai Motor Group.

While continuing investments in the U.S., they are considering measures such as producing hybrid vehicles alongside electric vehicles at local factories.

[Kim Kyung-yu/Senior Researcher, Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade: "The reduced demand for electric vehicles is shifting towards hybrid vehicles, where we still have a competitive edge, so the impact seems to be somewhat offset."]

Electric vehicle battery manufacturers are expected to face even greater blows.

Last year alone, they received nearly 2 trillion won in subsidies and planned to expand local factories, but now there are concerns about decline in performance.

[Battery Industry Official/Voice Altered: "In this regard, our public and private sectors should actively reach out to the U.S. to focus on defending the AMPC subsidies."]

President Trump has consistently expressed dissatisfaction with the Korea-U.S. FTA, which exempts tariffs on exports to the U.S.

If Trump moves to amend or abolish it, it could impact our automobile and battery exports.

This is KBS News, Jeong Jae-woo.