Taste Change
The Korean diesel cars released this year are outperforming market expectations, while the ratio of gasoline vehicles is rising again in the imported car market.
A total of 17,027 imported cars were newly registered in Korea in September, including 11,174 diesel (65.6 percent) and 5,105 gasoline (30 percent) cars. This is the first time this year that the ratio of the latter exceeded 20 percent. The ratio of imported diesel cars in Korea has increased all the way since 2010, from 25.4 percent and 35.2 percent to 51.0 percent, 62.1 percent, and 68.4 percent for the first eight months of this year.
“It seems that not a few customers who bought imported diesel models three to four years ago are turning their eyes toward gasoline or hybrid models for their new cars,” said a local dealer, adding, “They seem to be tired of the noise and vibration.”
Nonetheless, diesel vehicles’ popularity in the overall car market is still high. According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, no less than 249,407 new diesel cars were registered in Korea for the first half of this year to record a 28.6 percent growth from the preceding year. This year’s total is expected to be way over 500,000.
The diesel version of the Chevrolet Malibu has been selected by 4,225 customers until September since its debut in March, accounting for 35.7 percent of the total Malibu sales for the same period. Renault Samsung Motors SM5 D was picked by 2,440 customers during the same period to represent 33.1 percent of the total SM5 sales. The sales volume of the Hyundai Grandeur Diesel reached 4,183, or 19 percent of the total for the model, although the initial target was 10 percent. The three models’ sell-through amounted to 1,237, 1,208, and 1,180 each in September alone.