Korean Consumers’ Appetite for Luxury Cars Strong

Stefano Domenicali, chairman and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini introduces the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster.
Stefano Domenicali, chairman and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini introduces the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster.

Korea has ranked first in global Lamborghini sales for the fourth consecutive month. Lamborghini is synonymous with luxury sports cars and sells vehicles costing 250 million won to 700 million won per unit. Mercedes-Benz's flagship sedan S-Class sales in Korea were the third highest in the world in October.

Lamborghini sold 130 cars in Korea by October, up 1,525 percent from eight in the same period last year, said the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) on Nov. 21. In particular, Korea was recorded as the nation with the highest sales of Lamborghini cars based on a single show room for four consecutive months from August to November.

This is because the 250-million-won SUV Urus sold like hot cakes in Korea. The Urus accounts for 60 percent of Lamborghini’s sales in Korea this year. More than 30 units of the Lamborghini Huracan were sold. The Lamborghini Huracan is priced at around 400 million won in Korea. The Aventador, which is close to 600 million won, sold more than 10 units.

This is the first time Lamborghini recorded three digits in sales volume. The Italian brand sold only 24 in 2017 and 11 in 2018. Auto market experts forecast that Lamborghini will hit 160 units in cumulative sales by the end of the year. Considering that Lamborghini's average price is around 300 million won, the automaker will be able to post around 50 billion won in sales in Korea this year.

Korean consumers’ demand for luxury cars is also strong for other brands. Rolls-Royce sold 140 units, a 44.3 percent increase over the same period of last year. During the same period, 3,491 units of Porsche cars were sold. Although the 3,491 units are a decrease of 5.2 percent from the same period last year, Porsche put up a good fight considering the fact that the imported car market in Korea decreased by two digits this year.

Korea is also the fifth-largest market for the Mercedes-Benz in the world. Mercedes E-Class sales are the second highest in the world and the S-Class is the third highest. Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Germany is also making efforts to ramp up its sales in the Korean market.

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