



Hyundai Motor Kona Electric / Korea Times file



By Kwak Yeon-soo



Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia Motors saw their all-electric vehicle (EV) sales more than double in the first quarter on strong domestic and overseas demand, Korea's leading automakers said Sunday.



EVs obtain electricity from external sources ― charging stations ― and hold it in rechargeable batteries.



The companies said sales of EVs surged 159 percent to 21,148 between January and March from the previous year.



The brisk EV sales have been driven by solid overseas performance.



The number of EVs sold abroad more than tripled to 16,162 in the first quarter from the previous year's 4,905. The triple number comes after the recent international launch of the Hyundai Kona Electric.





Their domestic sales also rose to 4,986 from 3,247 during the same period.



