Tight Race, Many Twists
Mercedes-Benz has overtaken BMW as the No. 1 brand in monthly imported car sales after three months in the Korean imported car market. Audi remained in third place for the second consecutive month.
The Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said on Sept. 5 that 23,350 imported passenger cars were newly registered in Korea in August, down 10.5 percent from 21,038 in the previous month (July) and 2.1 percent from 23,850 in the same period of last year. Cumulative imported car sales through August totaled 175,177 units, down 0.6 percent from 176,282 units in the same period of 2022.
By brand, Mercedes-Benz racked up the highest sales in August with 6,588 units. BMW came in second with 6,304 units. After losing the top spot to BMW in June and July, Mercedes-Benz returned to the top spot after three months. Audi took third place for the second month in a row with 1,551 units sold.
Audi was followed by Volkswagen with 1,417, Porsche with 1,111, Lexus with 1,091, Volvo at 1,080, Mini with 1,036, Toyota with 733, and Jeep with 552.
By fuel, gasoline-powered models reached 11,144 with a 42.9 percent share, followed by hybrids at 7,475 with 32.0 percent, electric vehicles at 2,926 with 12.5 percent, diesel-powered models at 2,035 with 8.7 percent, and plug-in hybrids at 900 with 3.9 percent.
The best-selling imported model of August was the BMW 520, which sold 896 units. The BMW 520 was followed by the Mercedes-Benz E 250, which sold 842 units, and the Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4MATIC, which sold 820 units.