Produced by Zhineng Auto
In August, new car sales in the South Korean market reached 109,556 units, a year-on-year decrease of 20.8%. Cumulative sales from January to August totaled 1,093,807 units, down 0.6% year-on-year, barely breaking even for the full year.
Domestic manufacturers sold 79,739 units, down 28.2%; foreign manufacturers sold 29,817 units, up 9.2%. The declines were entirely among South Korea's own brands.
Chinese Automakers
BYD sold 3,002 units in South Korea in August, a year-on-year surge of 713.6%, ranking 7th in the overall brand chart.
This marks the first time BYD has broken into the top ten since entering the South Korean market. A year-on-year growth rate of over seven times, set against a market-wide decline of 20.8%, presents a striking contrast.
BYD is the only Chinese brand to make the list in South Korea. Chery, Great Wall, and Geely have yet to rank on this chart.
South Korea's threshold for imported electric vehicles is not low. BYD managed to secure the 7th position with 3,002 units by leveraging the price segment of the Atto 3.
Top 10 Automakers
◎ Kia held the first place with 40,365 units, down 7.6% year-on-year.
◎ Hyundai sold 29,788 units, down 39.2% year-on-year, a drop of nearly 40%.
◎ Tesla sold 10,400 units, up 30.4% year-on-year, capturing a record market share of 9.5% in South Korea. While the overall market fell by 20%, Tesla climbed by 30%.
◎ BMW sold 6,180 units, down 4.3%.
◎ Genesis sold 4,545 units, down 51.2%.
◎ Mercedes-Benz sold 4,037 units, down 6.8%.
This decline makes Genesis the worst performer among all mainstream brands.
◎ BYD sold 3,002 units, up 713.6%, ranking 7th.
◎ KGM sold 2,300 units, down 43.3%.
◎ Renault Korea sold 2,024 units, down 47.7%.
◎ Toyota sold 1,015 units, up 14.9%.
Among the top ten, only Tesla, BYD, and Toyota achieved positive growth, while the remaining seven all saw declines.
Top 10 Models
◎ Tesla Model Y: 9,638 units, up 44.2% year-on-year, securing the top spot for single models in South Korea for the second consecutive month. It outsold the second-place Kia Sorento by 3,241 units, leading by 51%.
◎ Kia Sorento: 6,397 units, down 2.1%.
◎ Hyundai Grandeur: 5,931 units, up 15.4%.
◎ Hyundai Porter: 4,224 units, down 23.9%.
◎ Kia Carnival: 4,186 units, down 30.6%.
◎ Kia Sportage: 3,874 units, down 32.7%.
◎ Kia Ray: 3,718 units, up 6.7%.
◎ Hyundai Santa Fe: 3,596 units, up 8.9%.
◎ Kia Seltos: 3,307 units, down 22.0%.
◎ Kia EV3: 3,174 units, up 37.0%.
Kia occupies five of the top ten model spots, but three of them are experiencing declines. Hyundai holds only three spots, with two seeing drops.
Summary
The landscape in South Korea in August shows domestic brands falling and foreign brands advancing. Domestic manufacturers dropped 28.2%, while foreign manufacturers grew 9.2%. This divergence was not formed in a single month.
Tesla and BYD entered the top ten simultaneously, with growth rates of 30.4% and 713.6%, respectively. South Korean brands are squeezed on their home turf from both ends, with BMW and Mercedes-Benz sandwiched in the middle.
South Korean cars have been retreating steadily in the Chinese market over the past two years, and now they have failed to maintain growth even on their home turf. The next question is: when will Hyundai and Kia's electric vehicle models be able to hold off these two foreign challengers in South Korea?