Kia's EV3 compact SUV / Courtesy of Kia

Competitions are stoking among carmakers to gain the upper hand in the burgeoning domestic market for compact electric vehicles (EVs), with more import brands moving to offer drastic discounts for their latest vehicles, according to data and auto industry officials, Wednesday.

The officials said carmakers here and abroad are shifting their strategic focus onto revving up EV sales with cheaper lineups, as a tactic to overcome a global chasm in the EV industry.

Among the contenders, Kia's EV3 compact SUV is showing off a strong presence with its price competitiveness. Customers can purchase the cheapest trim of the vehicle at 32.9 million won ($23,750) in Seoul.

Kia has achieved more than 10,000 EV pre-orders in about three weeks. The carmaker expects the EV3 to drive the popularization of EVs here.

Challenging the EV3's presence is Stellantis Korea, which operates car brands, such as Peugeot and Jeep. It is seeking to expand its footing by drastically cutting the prices of its EVs to compete with domestic rivals such as Kia and Hyundai Motor.

Peugeot's e2008 electric SUV / Courtesy of Stellantis Korea

The company recently decided to reduce the Peugeot e2008 compact SUV by as much as 14 million won here, so as for the vehicle to directly compete with the EV3 and other low-cost EVs forthcoming from its competitors. After receiving the discount, customers can purchase the vehicle for as low as 38.9 million won here.

The overseas carmaker also offers a discount of 25 percent for its e-208 small EV hatchback, selling it at 39.9 million won here.

Carmakers are employing aggressive pricing policies in line with their views that EVs still remain far more expensive than conventional cars with internal combustion or hybrid engines, thus resulting in customers paying less attention to EVs at this period of prolonged high interest rates.

Against this backdrop, officials from the industry said Stellantis Korea's wager appears as a timely move, as the market for compact EVs comes with huge growth potential, while luxurious carmakers are struggling to drive the mass adoption of EVs here due to the relatively high price range.

"The market for hybrid cars and ones with gasoline engines here is being dominated by Hyundai Motor and Kia, so imported carmakers need to expand their presence in the nascent growth area," an official from a carmaker said. "Stellantis Korea's wager looks to be a step in the right direction. Other import carmakers also need to redirect their focus onto diversifying their EV lineups into the sectors with reasonable prices to compete against the two strong home-grown rivals."

China's BYD is also set to launch its own EV for the first time in Korea sometime in the latter half of this year, so it can boost its presence in the market for medium- and low-priced EVs.