In a significant shift within South Korea’s imported car market, hybrid vehicle sales surpassed gasoline-powered models for the first time in the first quarter of this year. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Apr. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — In a significant shift within South Korea’s imported car market, hybrid vehicle sales surpassed gasoline-powered models for the first time in the first quarter of this year, signaling a robust trend favoring hybrid offerings.
Following the initial milestone in November 2023, when hybrid cars outsold gasoline variants on a monthly registration basis, the “hybrid dominance” has continued its ascent, according to data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA).
KAIDA reports that during the January-March period, hybrid vehicles accounted for the highest share of newly registered imported cars at 47.5%, marking a 16.1 percentage point increase compared to the first quarter of 2023.
In contrast, the market share of gasoline-powered cars plummeted by a staggering 21 percentage points during the same period, dropping from 49% to 28%, relegating them to second place.
This is the first time the market share of gasoline-powered imported cars has fallen below 30% based on quarterly sales since the first quarter of 2016 (27%), when hybrid models overtook their gasoline counterparts.
The surge in hybrid vehicle popularity is attributed to their superior fuel efficiency compared to internal combustion engine vehicles. Additionally, consumers wary of electric vehicles due to factors like charging infrastructure are turning to hybrids as an alternative.
Following hybrid and gasoline models, electric vehicles (EVs) were the third most popular imported car category during the first quarter.
Newly registered imported EVs reached 10,237 units (18.8%) in the first three months of 2023, a significant increase of 5,384 units over the same period last year.
Plug-in hybrid vehicles secured the fourth position with a 3.1% share (1,718 units), while diesel cars languished at the bottom with a mere 2.6% (1,428 units) of the imported car market.
Among imported hybrid models, the BMW 5 Series led the way with 5,459 units registered during the first quarter, followed by the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (2,039 units) and Lexus (1,810 units).
In the electric vehicle segment, Tesla’s Model Y topped the list with 6,012 units, trailed by the BMW i5 (522 units) and BMW iX3 (443 units).
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
