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mang jiuchen, our correspondent in south korea, and ni hao, our reporter, reported on the 18th that the data released by the ministry of trade, industry and energy and the korea trade association on the same day showed that from january to july this year, china surpassed germany for the first time to become the largest source of electric vehicle imports to south korea. since the beginning of this year, china's electric vehicle exports to south korea have surged year-on-year, while few korean electric vehicles have successfully entered the chinese market. the huge trade deficit highlights the problem of insufficient competitiveness of the korean automobile industry in the global electric vehicle market. the korea institute for industrial economics and trade recently released a report saying that the korean electric vehicle industry urgently needs to improve the price competitiveness of its products through innovative production methods and optimized supply chains to cope with fierce competition from chinese companies. chinese car companies and tesla landed in south korea. data shows that from january to july this year, south korea's imports of pure electric vehicles reached us$1.29 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.5%, of which chinese electric vehicle imports reached us$848 million. this year, china's electric vehicle exports to south korea have surged year-on-year, while german brand electric vehicle exports to south korea have fallen 38% year-on-year. according to analysis by korean media, the chinese electric vehicles currently entering the korean market are mainly commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks. since the second half of last year, tesla electric vehicles made in china have entered south korea on a large scale. according to a report by carisyou, an automotive industry analysis agency, tesla model y sales in south korea increased by 395.4% year-on-year to 10,041 units in the first half of this year, becoming the sales champion of imported cars. in the first half of the year, two tesla electric vehicles ranked in the top four in the korean imported car rankings. the asia daily reported that it is worth noting that chinese brand electric passenger cars are accelerating their layout in the korean market. byd, china's largest automaker, plans to enter the korean passenger car market in the second half of this year. korean media believe that this will further increase the competitive pressure on korean local automakers. in sharp contrast, south korea's electric vehicle exports to china are almost zero. this huge trade deficit not only affects south korea's trade balance, but also highlights the problem of south korea's automotive industry's lack of competitiveness in the global electric vehicle market. according to data from the korea automobile and mobility industry association, south korea's global market share of electric vehicles fell to 9.6% in the first half of this year, down from 10.4% in the same period last year. xiang haoyu, a specially appointed researcher at the asia-pacific institute of the china institute of international studies, told the global times on the 18th that after entering the era of electrification, the korean automotive industry has also occupied a place in the global market by relying on its previous technology and brand accumulation. at present, south korea's overseas markets for electric vehicles mainly include the united states, europe and southeast asia. however, since the beginning of this year, due to the increasing competition in the global market, south korea's electric vehicle exports have fluctuated and are under overall pressure. south korean automakers aim at cost-effective products. according to the south korean daily economy, data released by the korea automobile and mobility industry association on the 16th showed that from january to august this year, south korea's exports of pure electric vehicles were 179,200 units, a decrease of 23.2% from the same period last year. the export of plug-in hybrid vehicles also decreased by 30.6% from the same period last year, to only 34,900 units. against this background, hyundai motor will develop new popular electric vehicles targeting the european and chinese markets, which are planned to be launched in 2026. these two new cars are strategic models for the "popularization of electric vehicles" of south korean automakers. they are characterized by being equipped with relatively low-cost lithium iron phosphate batteries to improve price competitiveness. hyundai motor's strategy is to continue to launch low-priced electric vehicles with a unit price of 20 million won (1,000 won is about 5.36 yuan). hyundai motor has also confirmed its strategy to achieve annual sales of 2 million electric vehicles in 2030. will joining forces with the united states be a "cure"? while relying on self-reliance, south korean automakers have also thought of an alliance with their american competitors. according to a recent report by the hankook ilbo, hyundai motor will establish an alliance with general motors, the largest automaker in the united states, in all areas from production to technology research and development. in the face of fierce competition with chinese electric vehicle companies, the strategy of "joining forces with competitors" by korean automakers has attracted much attention. hyundai motor said on the 12th that the two sides will study the joint procurement plan for raw materials such as battery raw materials and steel and other materials. there is the possibility of cooperation in all areas from vehicle development and production to future technology development and raw material procurement. xiang haoyu believes that compared with chinese electric vehicles, the disadvantage of korean electric vehicles lies mainly in price competitiveness, and behind this is the competition between the level of the industrial chain and the production efficiency of the two countries. xiang haoyu said that in the us market, after the introduction of protectionist legislation such as the inflation reduction act, korean automakers can obtain corresponding subsidies, especially after chinese automakers were almost blocked out by high tariffs imposed by some countries in the united states and europe on china, korean electric vehicles are expected to maintain a corresponding market share. however, this market share obtained by relying on unfair competition is probably not a good thing for the long-term development of korean automakers. if korean automakers want to compete with chinese automakers, they must fundamentally rely on technological innovation and product differentiation. ▲