EV Purchase Realization Rate Ties Gasoline at 71%, Unfazed by Cheongna Fire, ConsumerInsight Finds

SEOUL, South Korea - June 12, 2026 - ConsumerInsight today released the fifth and final report in its `The Say-Do Gap` series, examining automobile purchase realization rates by fuel type. Among consumers who planned a car purchase in the 2024 survey, the share who completed that purchase within their originally intended fuel type within one year - the realization rate - was highest for electric vehicles (EV) and gasoline, both at 71%, followed by hybrid (HEV) at 63%. Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and diesel intenders posted realization rates of just 7% and 33%, respectively.

This analysis is based on 1,127 respondents - drawn from 31,852 continuous participants in ConsumerInsight`s 2024-2025 Annual Automobile Syndicated Study - who stated in 2024 that they planned to buy a new car within one year and completed that purchase. Realization rates were compared by fuel type: EV, gasoline, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and diesel. LPG and hydrogen (FCEV) intenders were excluded due to insufficient sample size.

Among 2024 survey respondents who planned a car purchase, the share who followed through with their intended fuel type within one year - the realization rate - was highest for EV and gasoline, both at 71%, followed by hybrid at 63% [Table 1]. The EV realization rate ran 8 percentage points ahead of hybrid, the current mainstream fuel type, and matched gasoline, the perennial leader.

The finding is particularly striking set against the electric-vehicle fire that broke out in an apartment complex in Cheongna, Incheon, on August 1, 2024. The blaze erupted shortly after the 2024 survey was completed (late July 2024) and fueled a year of heightened public concern over EV safety - yet it had no measurable effect on the realization rate of existing EV intenders. If anything, the EV realization rate rose 5 percentage points from the previous year (66%), while domestic EV sales jumped more than 50% (from roughly 140,000 units in 2024 to about 215,000 in 2025, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport`s vehicle registration statistics) - an unexpected outcome given the circumstances.

The Cheongna incident had a far greater impact on consumers who had no interest in EVs to begin with. Just 5-8% of non-EV intenders ended up choosing an EV, while 19-41% shifted toward gasoline or hybrid vehicles instead. ConsumerInsight reads this as a clear case of confirmation bias: the fire appears to have reinforced EV intenders` resolve to buy despite the incident, while hardening non-intenders` conviction never to buy an EV at all.

Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and diesel intenders posted realization rates of just 7% and 33%, respectively - in both cases lower than the share who ended up switching to gasoline instead (41% and 36%). The extremely low PHEV realization rate reflects a narrow model lineup, along with charging inconvenience and price burden relative to EVs. Diesel`s decline reflects a broader realignment of fuel types amid tightening emissions regulations and shrinking new-model lineups.

A six-year comparison highlights distinct patterns by fuel type, most notably a decoupling between EV purchase intention and realization. EV purchase intention peaked at 16% in 2022 before declining and holding steady at 11% for two consecutive years [Table 2]. Realization rates, by contrast, rose in every year except 2023 (58%), catching up to hybrid in 2024 (66%) and matching gasoline in 2025 (71%) [Table 3]. This suggests the EV market is increasingly sustained by a committed core of genuine buyers rather than a broader base of casual interest.

Gasoline`s high realization rate appears to reflect its advantages: the widest range of models and trims, the lowest upfront cost, and no charging-related stress. Even so, both gasoline`s purchase intention and its realization rate have been on a downward trend since peaking in 2022.

It is somewhat paradoxical that hybrid - now the mainstream fuel type - posted a realization rate well below both EV and gasoline. Its outsized popularity likely triggered supply shortages, which in turn drove long delivery waits and price increases that pushed some buyers elsewhere. Plug-in hybrids, meanwhile, saw purchase intention rise even as realization remained in the single digits, reflecting a severe supply constraint with few purchasable models.

Among all 43,501 respondents in the 2025 survey who intended to buy a car, 15% named EV as their preferred fuel type, up 3 percentage points from the previous year - the only fuel type to post a gain. With domestic EV sales up 53% year-on-year in 2025 and the realization rate poised to overtake gasoline outright this year, multiple indicators point to a genuine exit from the EV chasm that began in 2022.

EVs also benefit from a distinctly loyal core of genuine buyers. Yet the fact that EV`s share of actual purchases remained in the single digits among intenders of every other fuel type shows EVs have yet to break out of what might be called a `closed league.` How the industry brings together these two starkly divided camps - strong supporters and strong avoiders - will likely determine the pace of vehicle electrification going forward.