Korean Super Car Market
South Korea is considered to be the major market for luxury car manufacturers. However, sales results by company are at opposite poles. While Porche and Maserati are putting up a good show, Aston Martin and Audi’s R8 supercar are not selling well.
According to data from Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association on Aug. 23, Porche sold 2,464 units in the domestic market as of July this year. The figure outsold nearly 1,000 units from the sales of 1,524 units during the same period last year.
Bentley, which basic model is priced at about 220 million won (US$183,059), is also popular in the Korean market. From last year, it has been selling 30 cars every month in the market. During Jan. to July this year, 140 units of the Bentley Flying Spur sedan were sold.
Italian sportscar maker Ferrari does not disclose its sales in the Korean market. However, imported car industry sources estimate that domestic sales of Ferrari last year are much higher than 100 units. The Ferrari models are selling more briskly this year. With the success of the California T, in particular, the cumulative number of contracts from Jan. to Feb. this year increased sixfold compared with the same period last year. Italian premium car manufacturer Maserati, the other car brand imported by Forza Motors Korea Corporation (FMK) along with Ferrari, is also on the road to success. The Maserati Ghibli sold 723 units last year. The figure was about five times higher than that of the previous year. Korea is the biggest market to Maserati in Southeast Asia and the Pacific area.
However, not all high-priced supercars are selling well in the market. The Audi R8 sports car, with a starting price of 200 million won (US$166,417) sold a total of 48 units from Jan. to July last year, gaining high popularity. However, its sales decreased by half to 26 units during the same period this year.
Although Aston Martin, a luxury British sports car manufacturer, has ambitiously entered the domestic market in April this year, customer responses are lukewarm. It is said that Aston Martin, which has founded its domestic official corporation, is selling less than a unit on a monthly basis.
However, the forecast is coming out that the sales of supercars can drop in the future. This is because the Korean government is revising the related tax system in a bid to prevent indiscriminate tax benefits on costly imported corporate vehicles.