Korean Media: Import Car Market Share in South Korea First Surpasses 25%!

On August 9, Korean media outlet JoongAng Economic published an article stating that the market share of imported passenger cars in South Korea has for the first time exceeded 25%.

According to preliminary statistics released by the Korea Association of Import Automobiles and the Korea Automotive Mobility Industry Association, the share of imported vehicles among newly registered passenger cars in May this year surpassed 25% for the first time, setting a new monthly record.

Out of a total of 115,680 vehicles registered, 29,860 were imported cars, accounting for 25.8%; domestic Korean vehicles numbered 85,820. In June, the number of newly registered imported cars exceeded 38,000, representing 25.9% of the total registration volume.

Since February this year, the proportion of newly registered imported cars has remained above 20% for five consecutive months. The share of imported cars among newly registered passenger vehicles rose from 10% in 2012 to over 15% in 2015. Last year, the number of newly registered imported cars surpassed 300,000, with a market share reaching 20.3%.

The number of newly registered imported passenger cars in June increased by 37% compared to the same month last year, setting a record high for the month.

Looking at cumulative data for the first half of this year, sales have also reached a historic high of 184,000 units.

The rise of the electric vehicle brand Tesla has completely transformed the South Korean market landscape. Tesla's new vehicle registrations in the first half of the year reached 56,139 units, accounting for 30.5% of all imported cars and ranking first—up a remarkable 192% compared to last year.

Chinese EV manufacturer BYD has also contributed significantly to the expansion of the imported car market alongside Tesla. BYD’s new vehicle registrations in the first half of the year totaled 11,675 units, surpassing brands such as Lexus and Audi to rank fourth.

New registrations of imported vehicles in the first half of the year reached 184,000 units, an increase of 46,000 compared to the same period last year; combined, Tesla and BYD accounted for a growth of 47,000 registrations.

With the rapid development of Tesla and BYD, electric vehicles now account for more than half of all imported cars, reaching 51.1% in June.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1873046998537483/

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