Demand for electric vehicles (EVs) in South Korea has significantly increased last year with the cumulative number of EVs on the road surpassing 10,000 units for the first time thanks to Hyundai Motor Co.’s all-electric sedan IONIQ, but it still lags behind that in other key auto markets due to a lack of EV infrastructure.

According to the Ministry of Environment Sunday, the cumulative number of EVs registered in Korea tallied up to 11,337 units as of December 27, 2016. The government has been promoting battery-powered green cars since 2011, but the number of registered eco-friendly cars has remained stagnant under 6,000 units until the end of 2015.

The demand for EVs, however, started to pick up greatly last year, exceeding the 10,000 mark after the release of the country’s largest carmaker Hyundai Motor’s IONIQ Electric.

IONIQ Electric launched in July can go as far as 191 kilometers (119 miles) per a single charge, outpacing other local peers’ electric cars by twice. The all-electric sedan has sold as many as 3,400 units by end-December, accounting for 62 percent of entire 5,473 EVs sold in Korea last year. Including the new-year buyers, IONIQ Electric has sold a total of 5,300 units as of Sunday.

As many popular EV models by global rivals - Chevy Bolt, Tesla Model S and BMW i3 that each boast a driving range of 300 kilometers (186.4 miles) or more - are slated to hit the Korean auto market this year, EV demand in the country is expected to grow further.

But, the demand for EV in Korea still lower than that in other key auto markets. According to data from the International Energy Agency, the number of registered EVs as of end-2015 in the U.S. reached 210,330 units, China 225,720 units and Japan 70,930 units.

The biggest hurdle in spurring the EV demand in Korea is the lack of EV infrastructure, industry observers cited. Currently, 750 EV chargers are installed across the country, lagging far behind 12,101 units in China, 5,990 units in Japan and 3,542 units in the U.S.

By Park Chang-young

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