Asia-Pacific

Seoul to allow low-speed electric vehicles on roads

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-24 17:48

SEOUL - The Seoul City Hall office said Wednesday that it will start allowing low-speed electric vehicles on designated road areas from early next month, a move aimed at promoting eco-friendly and emission-reducing vehicles in South Korea.

Starting April 14, specifically designated roads will be open for "neighborhood electric vehicles" (NEV) -- vehicles powered by lithium-polymer batteries that run on maximum speeds of 60 km per hour -- making 96.8 percent, or 7,845 km, of roadways in Seoul available to such vehicles, the Seoul Metropolitan government said.

Road signs will be put up to indicate what areas are open to NEVs as all intra-city expressways and some roads will not be available for such cars designed for short-distance drives, it said.

City officials added it is planning to build more than 100 charging stations by the end of this year and up to 600 by 2014, as lack of charging facilities has been cited as a potential problem.

The move comes after the South Korean government enacted a new law last year that would go in effect from March 30 allowing commercial, low-speed electric vehicles to run on designated driveways.