The number of registered vehicles in South Korea surpassed 26 million last year, with eco-friendly cars accounting for over ten percent of the total for the first time.

According to the transport ministry on Wednesday, the total number of registered vehicles came to nearly 26-point-three million as of the end of December, up one-point-three percent or 349-thousand units from a year earlier.

Of the total, gasoline models were the most numerous at 12-point-four million, while diesel models were next at nine-point-one million. 

Liquefied petroleum gas models were in third place at one-point-85 million, and hybrid models came in fourth at two-point-02 million.

The number of eco-friendly vehicles, including electric, hydrogen and hybrid models, increased by 626-thousand units from a year earlier to two-point-74 million last year. 

Together, these eco-friendly vehicles accounted for ten-point-four percent of all registered vehicles last year, a two-point-two percentage point rise from a year earlier.