In the first quarter of the Korean imported car market, Volvo has surpassed Volkswagen to secure the fourth position. (Image courtesy of Volvo Korea)
SEOUL, April 29 (Korea Bizwire) — The rankings for sales of imported cars have undergone significant changes this year, with Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, and Volkswagen no longer dominating the market.
In the first quarter of this year, Volvo has overtaken Volkswagen to claim the fourth spot, while new players such as Lexus and Porsche are competing for fifth place. The Korea Association of Imported Automobile Manufacturers (KAIDA) revealed that the top five imported vehicle sales for the first quarter of this year were BMW (18,134 units), Mercedes-Benz (14,952 units), Audi (6,914 units), Volvo (3,990 units), and Tesla was not included in the study.
Volkswagen, which has traditionally held the fourth position, dropped out of the top ten this year due to its first-quarter sales plummeting to 1,165 units after halting shipments in January over a defective safety triangle.
Toyota’s luxury brand, Lexus, climbed to fifth place with sales of 3,296 units, marking a 114% increase year-on-year. This is attributed to the recovery of Korea-Japan relations, following the No Japan boycott that affected the brand’s sales until last year.
Toyota’s luxury brand, Lexus, climbed to fifth place thanks to the recovery of Korea-Japan relations. (Image courtesy of Toyota Korea)
The German luxury sports car brand, Porsche, sold 2,966 units, ranking sixth in sales in a quarter since the establishment of Porsche Korea in 2014. The competition between Lexus and Porsche for fifth place is tight, with just a 330-unit difference between them. Toyota, Mini, Land Rover, and Ford were the next four brands on the list, with sales ranging from 1,237 to 1,745 units.
The import sales ranking for this year is expected to be different from previous years, with Benz and BMW competing for the top spot, Volkswagen slumping, and Lexus and Porsche vying for the fifth position. Although Mercedes-Benz and BMW still dominate the market, the availability of a variety of brands has lowered the barriers to entry in the import market, leading to consumers’ choices diversifying.
“Mercedes-Benz and BMW still dominate the market, but as the barriers to entry in the import market have been lowered, a variety of brands have become available to consumers,” said a source from the import industry.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
