In April, the South Korean imported car market experienced negative growth for the eighth consecutive month due to the continued impact of the epidemic and the shortage of semiconductor supplies.
According to data from the Data Research Center on the 3rd, the number of newly registered imported cars in April 2022 was 22,899, down 8.8% year-on-year.
Mercedes-Benz continues to lead the way in South Korea's imported bodies, being the highest-selling imported car brand in South Korea. In April, mercedes-benz brand sales reached 7823 vehicles, ranking first in the brand list.
Photo note: Mercedes-Benz C-Class
The Mercedes-Benz E-Class (2781 units) topped the best-selling list, while the S-Class (1,287 units), the C-Class (1,269 units) and the GLB (473 units) ranked in the top 10.
In particular, the overhauled C-class increased by 342% over the previous year, and the cumulative sales of the S-class began in 2018 with more than 14,000 units, which is also a remarkable achievement in the Korean market.
In second place is BMW, which ranks second on the brand list with sales of 6658 units. The 5 Series moved up to second place again with 2,390 units, followed by the 3 Series (694 units), the 6 Series (502 units) and the X3 (433 units).
There is no such thing as BBA in the Korean market, which is the name of Chinese users. So after Mercedes-Benz and BMW, Audi's sales are not third. In third place was Volvo.
Note: Volvo S90
The competition for third place is also fierce. Volvo came in third with 1,332 cars. This is the first time that Volvo has occupied the top three places in imported cars. The flagship sedan S90 (429 units) sold the most, followed by SUVs such as the XC40 (330) and XC60 (178 units).
Next, Audi (1055 vehicles, 4th). Audi did not gain a market position similar to mercedes-Benz and BMW, mainly for many reasons. The first is that Audi's brand influence itself is not as good as Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Secondly, Audi was investigated by the South Korean government due to the diesel engine emission gate incident in previous years, and once stopped selling in South Korea. Later, when it was possible to continue to sell, the import car market was already occupied by the up-and-coming Volvo. Coupled with the tension between Japan and South Korea, the sales of Nissan and Lexus have been blocked, so Volvo's sales have become second only to Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
European brands such as Porsche (921 vehicles, 5th), Volkswagen (847 vehicles, 6th), Mini (779 vehicles, 7th) are listed in order, and there is only one non-European brand, that is, Toyota with 648 vehicles (8th). Yes, Korean consumers are not cold to Toyota, which is very different from the situation in the Chinese market.
In addition, the officially put into production Polestar ranked 11th with 460 vehicles, beating Lincoln (267), Honda (196) and Land Rover (192), while tesla, which was out of stock, was eliminated.