This photo provided by Kia Corp. shows its upgraded Ray minicar.
SEOUL, June 1 (Korea Bizwire) — In the midst of the pandemic resulting in a spike in delivery demand, the size of South Korea’s small van market is growing thanks to the increasing ‘livelihood’ demand from small business owners.
Sales of small vans totaled 4,373 units in the January to April period of this year, up 63 percent from a year ago, according to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association.
Sales of Kia Corp.’s Ray Van minicar rose by 49 percent year on year to 2,352 units, while Morning Van minicar was also popular with sales up by 77.1 percent to 967 units.
GM Korea Co. reported that sales of the company’s Damas mini van grew by 88.9 percent year on year to 1,054 units.
A van refers to a vehicle that has a luggage compartment. In general, vans only have a front seat, with the rear seat being removed to create space for cargo.
Small vans, in particular, are popular as vehicles that are vital to the livelihood of small business owners, since they have a relatively large cargo area.
Compact and easy to park, small vans are suitable for driving in a complex road environment.
Small vans are also cheaper than general passenger cars since they don’t have a rear seat.
When it comes to Kia’s Ray, the price of the passenger car model that has similar specs to the van model is about 1 million won (US$902) higher.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
