Imported Cars Zoomed Through COVID... Record High of 270,000 Units Last Year

27,4859 New Registrations Last Year
Largest Performance in 32 Years Since Import Car Market Opening

Mercedes-Benz Joins '70,000 Club' for 3 Consecutive Years
Japanese Brands' Market Share Halved Amid Sales Slump

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Last year, the domestic imported car market experienced rapid growth, selling over 270,000 units despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This marks the highest performance in 32 years since the full liberalization of imported cars in 1988.

According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) on the 6th, the number of newly registered imported passenger cars last year increased by 12.3% compared to the previous year, reaching 274,859 units. This significantly surpasses the previous record of 260,705 units set in 2018. December sales alone reached 31,419 units, breaking the monthly sales record.

Mercedes-Benz solidified its position as the top imported car brand by selling 76,879 units last year. Since first joining the "70,000 club" in 2018, it has maintained this record for three consecutive years. Notably, the E250 single model sold 10,321 units, maintaining its dominance in the imported car market.

Following Mercedes-Benz, BMW also posted strong results last year. BMW sales peaked at 59,624 units in 2017 but declined to around 44,000 units in 2019 due to a large-scale recall crisis. However, with aggressive new car marketing last year, BMW recorded 58,393 units, fully recovering to pre-crisis levels.

While traditional leaders in the imported car market continued their steady performance, Audi and Volkswagen rapidly expanded the market. Last year, Audi sold 25,513 units and Volkswagen 17,615 units, ranking third and fourth respectively in domestic imported car sales. Until 2019, annual sales hovered around 10,000 units due to a limited lineup, but last year’s influx of new models successfully reversed the trend. These two brands accounted for over 70% of the total increase in imported car sales (about 30,000 units). Volkswagen’s Tiguan 2.0 TDI recorded 8,631 units, making it the second best-selling imported car.

Other brands also capitalized on the boom to increase their presence. Following fourth-place Volkswagen were Volvo (12,798 units), Chevrolet (12,455 units), Mini (11,245 units), Lexus (8,911 units), Jeep (8,753 units), and Porsche (7,779 units). As a result, the number of imported car brands selling over 10,000 units annually increased to seven last year. Adding Tesla (11,826 units according to Kaizyu statistics), which is not included in KAIDA’s data, the "10,000 club" of imported car brands reached as many as eight.

However, the slump of Japanese brands due to the boycott continued. Sales, which reached 36,661 units in 2019, barely exceeded 20,000 units last year. Their market share shrank from 15% to the 7% range. Meanwhile, German cars absorbed this demand, pushing the market share of European brands in the imported car market above 80% last year. Im Han-gyu, Vice Chairman of KAIDA, stated, "Last year’s imported passenger car market saw increased sales compared to the previous year due to various new car effects, securing supply, and the impact of the individual consumption tax reduction."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.