New Car Registrations Rebound in March

CarIsYou Data Research Institute said on April 4 that 144,179 cars were newly registered in South Korea last month, up 25.8 percent from the previous month and down 14.8 percent from a year earlier.

The new registrations include 116,172 domestic cars, up 22.8 percent from the previous month and down 16.1 percent year on year. The number of newly registered imported cars increased 40.3 percent and decreased 8.9 percent, respectively.

The domestic cars include 39,522 Kia, 33,066 Hyundai and 11,634 Genesis, followed by SsangYong Motor (5,271), Renault Korea (4,577) and Chevrolet (3,544). The imported cars include 8,769 Mercedes-Benz, 6,838 BMW and 2,496 Tesla. The new Mercedes-Benz registrations increased 46.8 percent from the previous month and increased 15.2 percent from a year ago.

Last month, 17,386 electric vehicles were newly registered in the country, up 63.8 percent year on year. The figures are 19,840 and 27.8 percent in the case of hybrid vehicles. On the other hand, new gasoline, diesel and LPG vehicle registrations decreased 15.7 percent, 37.8 percent and 46.3 percent to 71,696, 27,906 and 5,805, respectively.