Korean media: Chinese cars have overtaken Japanese cars in the South Korean market just one year after entering!
On September 8, Korea Economic Daily reported that in this year's domestic import car market in South Korea, Japanese cars led Chinese cars by 1,709 units. By month, sales rankings have switched places three times. If XPeng Motors enters the South Korean market after Polestar later this year, this gap could even disappear. Chinese cars have only been present in the South Korean market for a single year.
Chinese automobiles are rapidly capturing the share previously held by Japanese cars in South Korea.
In April this year, Chinese car sales first surpassed the combined total of Lexus, Toyota, and Honda. Since then, in June and July, Chinese car sales also exceeded those of Japanese cars—marking the third time this year that monthly sales have reversed.
From January to July this year, Japanese cars still led by 1,709 units. However, since Chinese car sales have actually been dominated by a single brand—BYD—there is a forecast that as Polestar begins delivering pre-ordered vehicles and XPeng accelerates its expansion into the South Korean market, this gap may shrink rapidly starting from the second half of the year.
This shift is not unique to South Korea. In May this year, Chinese car sales in Europe surpassed those of Japanese cars for the first time; last year, China’s automakers sold approximately 27 million vehicles, surpassing Japan and reclaiming the global sales leadership position for the first time in over two decades.
The landscape of South Korea’s import car market is also changing. The market share of German brands had peaked at 71.4% in 2023, but has dropped to 45.3% in the first half of this year. Meanwhile, thanks to Tesla, the U.S. brand’s market share has increased more than fivefold, rising from 6.1% to 31.6% during the same period. At the same time, the market share of Chinese brands grew from 0% to 6.3%. Conversely, Japanese brands’ share in South Korea’s import car market has slightly declined, falling from 8.7% to 7.3%. Within just two or three years, the structure of South Korea’s import car market has undergone significant transformation.
As Chinese cars grow increasingly influential in the domestic South Korean market, competition is now expanding to include local South Korean automakers. The Korean auto industry has already begun adjusting pricing strategies to respond to this shift. Next year will be a crucial test of whether they can defend their home market.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1875749882412171/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.