Japanese Cars Losing Popularity in South Korea

The Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association announced on March 8 that Japanese cars accounted for 5.9 percent of the imported cars sold in South Korea last month. The ratio dropped 20.6 percent from a year ago and that for the first two months of this year fell 21 percent year on year.

Last month, Lexus sold 677 cars in South Korea, up 52.8 percent from a year earlier. In January and February, it increased its sales volume by 13.8 percent year on year. On the other hand, the sales volumes of Toyota and Honda stood at 414 (down 19.1 percent) and 220 (down 38.9 percent) last month, respectively.

Under the circumstances, Toyota and Honda are aiming to increase their sales volumes by releasing new hybrid cars. Last year, hybrid cars accounted for 98 percent and 88 percent of the sales volumes of Lexus and Toyota in South Korea, respectively.

However, their efforts are likely to fizzle out as the Ministry of Environment of South Korea is considering excluding hybrid cars from its low-pollution vehicle classification. In South Korea, such vehicles are provided with an airport parking fee discount of up to 50 percent, a public parking fee discount of up to 50 percent, zero environmental improvement charges, and so on.