Car design on demand and individualistic car tuning will become easier in South Korea as the automotive sector has become the latest deregulation target to groom specialty vehicle field and create a niche in the auto market dominated by a select finished car makers.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport said on Wednesday that it will give advanced legislation notice for 40 days starting Thursday on revised automobile management act. The ministry clarified the definition of vehicles produced in small batch and eased application standards.

The ministry revised the definition of vehicles produced in small quantity from those manufactured and assembled below 100 units to those manufactured and assembled below 300 units in three years.

It also stipulated vehicles applying small quantity production system as those custom-built cars whose total gross weight is less than 3.5 tons and can carry 10 or fewer passengers, air vehicles, tracked vehicles, land-water cars, limousine funeral cars, wheel chair boarded cars, vehicles run by regional governments for tourism purpose under maximum 25 kilometers per hour speed, and vehicles that need approval from the transport minister to introduce environmentally-friendly and new technologies.

As part of efforts to facilitate the development of vehicles produced in small batch on the roads, the ministry eased related regulations such as leveling down requirements to receive tuning approval. The ministry decided to ease a collision test-related category on vehicles produced in small batch after studying overseas cases such as those in Europe. The ministry expected that the latest revision will allow the development of a variety of customized vehicles. So far, the local custom vehicle market was driven mainly by refrigerator trucks and ladder trucks.

Under the revision, the ministry has also eased criteria for vehicle tuning by exempting approval on some equipment that are relatively safe. They would only have to receive tuning examination.

Currently, car owners must receive pre-approval and tuning examination on 15 vehicle structure and equipment of total 28 items. The ministry, however, will exempt approval for several equipment such as power transfer units and lighting systems.

The ministry also eased tuning standards for two-wheeled vehicles.

Yoon Jin-hwan, director of vehicle policy at the transport ministry, said that the latest revision will help nurture the new vehicle industry in Korea.

By Lee Eun-joo

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