France will grant South Korean carmakers only narrow, model-specific exemptions from its EV subsidy rules within a year, not a blanket carve-out from its carbon-score restrictions.

The Korean industry minister pressed his French counterpart on the sidelines of a Lee-Macron meeting to fix the scheme so Korean-made EVs are not penalised. Yet France's bonus écologique scores vehicles on lifecycle carbon footprint, including maritime shipping distance, which structurally disadvantages cars built in Korea versus those made in Europe. With French carmakers still lobbying to keep that formula intact, any relief for Hyundai or Kia is likelier to arrive model-by-model, tied to battery-sourcing or local-investment pledges, rather than as a wholesale rewrite.