Korea Aims to Hike “Green” Car Sales Tenfold in 5 Years

South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy says it will help “green” cars boost their share of new-car sales from 2% today to 20% by 2020.

The target represents a hike in domestic production of plug-in hybrids, electrics and fuel cell vehicles to 920,000 units by the end of the decade from 78,000 this year.

The goal is part of a five-year plan unveiled earlier today to reduce the country’s annual emissions of greenhouse gases from vehicles by 11% (3.8 million tons) in five years.

The government says it will invest 150 billion won ($127 million) on green technology research over the period. It also will launch sales incentives and help install more charging facilities in the country.

The ministry predicts the initiative will create 93,000 jobs over the next five years. It also forecasts that Korean green cars could become an 18 trillion-won ($15.3 billion) annual export business by 2020.

The ministry’s plan coincides with a five-year, 11.3 trillion-won ($10.2 billion) investment program in green vehicles and factories by Hyundai Motor Co. and its Kia Motors Corp. affiliate.