Soaring Popularity
The popularity of Volkswagen is soaring in Korea. Last month, it outnumbered BMW, the most popular imported car brand in Korea, in cumulative mid-size car registrations.
Specifically, a total of 98,042 Volkswagen mid-size cars were registered as of the end of July, while the number was 96,246 for BMW. This is somewhat unexpected, in that BMW has led the growth of the market segment with its 5-Series sedans.
The rise of Volkswagen can be attributed to the increasing demand for diesel cars as of late. Out of the 98,042 cars, 84,623 use diesel, while the types of fuel are more diverse for BMW – 26,260 gasoline, 69,986 diesel, and 48 electric.
Another one of the reasons is the brand’s popularity with younger consumers. According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, Volkswagen was the favorite of those aged 20 and 40 last year.
“Young customers put practicality first, and practicality means diesel cars with higher fuel efficiency in the auto market,” said the automaker, adding, “We have diversified our lineup from the Golf and been more aggressive in marketing since 2010 to better meet their demand and boost our sales.” The Tiguan 2.0 TDI (second), Golf 2.0 TDI (fourth) and Passat 2.0 TDI joined the top 10 bestselling imported cars in the first half of this year.
In the meantime, Volkswagen and BMW were followed by Audi (47,294) and Mercedes Benz (28,549) in cumulative mid-size car registrations, while Mercedes Benz recorded 133,370 to be unchallenged in the full-size category. It was followed by BMW (94,548), and the number of cumulative registrations was only 9,004 for Volkswagen in this category.