Tesla held the top spot in South Korea's imported car market for a seventh consecutive month in August, with its Model Y Premium becoming the best-selling passenger car in the country, including domestic brands. The model sold 7,490 units last month.
New registrations of imported passenger cars totaled 29,817 units in August, up 9.2% from a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said on the 3rd. The figure was down 3.7% from 30,976 units in July.
Tesla registered 10,400 vehicles, the only importer to top 10,000 units. More than one in three imported cars sold last month, or 34.9%, was a Tesla. The U.S. electric vehicle maker has led the market every month since February.
BMW followed with 6,180 units, ahead of Mercedes-Benz at 4,037, BYD at 3,002, Toyota at 1,015, Lexus at 840, Audi at 810, Volvo at 770, Porsche at 739, Mini at 702 and Volkswagen at 315.
Others included Polestar at 290 units, Land Rover at 271, Jeep at 134, Lamborghini at 68, GMC at 52, Peugeot at 40, Bentley at 34, Honda at 33, Cadillac at 25, Ferrari at 25, Ford at 17, Rolls-Royce at 16 and Lincoln at two.
The Tesla Model Y Premium was the best-selling model at 7,490 units, the highest of any passenger car sold in South Korea, including domestic models. The Model Y Premium Long Range ranked second at 1,746 units, followed by the BMW 520 at 1,270.
BYD's Dolphin sold 1,115 units and the Sealion 7 sold 819, both among the top sellers. The Sealion 6 DM-i, a plug-in hybrid model that BYD began delivering in earnest, sold 500 units.
Electric Vehicles Close the Gap Fast
Demand for electric vehicles, which trailed hybrids by a wide margin as recently as last year, is expanding quickly. By fuel type, electric vehicles led with 15,183 units, or 50.9%, followed by hybrids at 11,923 units, or 40.0%, gasoline at 2,540 units, or 8.5%, and diesel at 171 units, or 0.6%. By buyer type, individual purchases accounted for 17,763 units, or 59.6%, and corporate purchases for 12,054 units, or 40.4%. Cumulative registrations for January through August reached 244,825 units, up 27.2% from 192,514 units in the same period last year.
Chung Yoon-young, vice chairman of KAIDA, said new registrations of imported passenger cars slipped from the previous month as some brands cleared inventory ahead of new model launches and faced supply shortages.
Tesla Also Leads Used EV Sales From June to August
Tesla also kept its lead in the used electric vehicle market. Chutcha, a mobile used-car platform, released a ranking of the 10 best-selling used electric vehicle models based on actual sales data from June through August, along with projected September prices.
The Tesla Model 3 Long Range ranked first in used electric vehicle sales during the period, according to Chutcha. Prices start at 30.73 million won in September, a 54% discount from the original sticker price. The Tesla Model Y (RWD) ranked second, starting at 36.71 million won, or 31% below the new-car price.
The Polestar 2 Long Range Single Motor ranked sixth overall, the highest among imported electric vehicles other than Teslas. Prices start at 29.27 million won, a 47% discount from the new-car price.
Among domestic electric vehicles, Hyundai Motor's Ioniq 5 ranked third. September prices start at 27.84 million won, 55% below the new-car price.
