Sport utility vehicles (SUVs) are dominating the Korean new car market this year. More than six out of 10 new models sold this year were SUVs.
A total of 767,979 SUVs, including recreational vehicles (RVs) such as minivans, were sold in Korea from January to October this year, according to industry sources and the CarIsYou Data Research Institute on Nov. 30. This is an 11.5 percent year-on-year increase. As a result, SUVs accounted for 61 percent of the total passenger vehicle sales of 1,258,089 units this year. This was the first time that the share of SUVs in the Korean new car market exceeded 60 percent.
By vehicle type, Kia’s mid-size SUV Sorento sold the most at 68,379 units with its hybrid models leading the way at 44,378. Hybrid models of the Sorento accounted for 64.9 percent of all Sorento sales, while diesel Sorento models only 9.4 percent with 6,419 units sold in the same period.
Among imported models, Tesla’s midsize electric SUV Model Y was the top seller with sales of 9,544 units from January to October. Tesla’s recent launch of a rear-wheel drive (RWD) version of the Tesla Model Y in Korea has significantly reduced its price by loading the model with Chinese CATL lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries at its Shanghai factory. The price cut contributed to the increase in the model’s sales in Korea, many analysts say. In the imported car market of Korea, the Mercedes-Benz GLC (5,465 units), the GLE (5,334 units), the Volvo X60 (4,519 units), the BMW X4 (4,501 units), and the BMW X5 (4,178 units) sold the most units in the appearing order.
SUV sales are expected to climb higher next year. This is due to the increasing popularity of hybrid models and electric SUVs, which have lowered their prices. In fact, Kia recently added hybrid engines to its lineup for the first time with the launch of a partially redesigned Carnival. Volvo also recently released the EX30, a small electric SUV in the 40 million won price range with a subsidy, in the Korean market.