Korean Media: BYD Surpasses Volvo and Audi to Rank Fourth in South Korea's Import Car Sales!
On May 6, Korean media outlet Herald Economy published an article stating that South Korea's import passenger vehicle market showed significant growth in March this year. Tesla’s monthly sales surpassed 10,000 units, and when categorized by fuel type, electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles accounted for over 90% of total sales.
Data released by the Korea Automobile Importers Association shows that the total number of newly registered import passenger vehicles in March reached 33,970 units, a 34.6% increase compared to the same period last year (25,229 units) and a 24.9% rise from February (27,190 units). Cumulative import passenger vehicle registrations for the first quarter of this year totaled 82,120 units, up 35.4% compared to the same period last year.
Tesla led the market with 11,130 units sold, far ahead of second-place BMW (6,785 units) and third-place Mercedes-Benz (5,419 units). Chinese brand BYD also drew attention with 1,664 units sold, surpassing traditional automotive giants such as Volvo (1,496 units), Audi (1,300 units), and Lexus (1,178 units), firmly securing fourth place.
By driving fuel type, internal combustion engine vehicles have seen a notable decline in significance. Electric vehicle sales reached 16,249 units (47.8%), while hybrid vehicle sales amounted to 14,585 units (42.9%), combining for a combined market share of 90.7%. In contrast, gasoline-powered vehicles sold 2,956 units (8.7%), and diesel vehicles sold only 180 units (0.5%).
By country of origin, European brands accounted for more than half of sales, totaling 18,838 units (55.5%), followed by the United States with 11,468 units (33.8%), largely driven by Tesla’s strong performance. Japan and China sold 2,000 units (5.9%) and 1,664 units (4.9%), respectively.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1864439431113739/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.