October Imported Car Registrations Drop 23%... BMW 1st, Benz 2nd Ranking Change

Semiconductor Shortage Causes Market Turmoil

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] Due to the impact of the global shortage of automotive semiconductors affecting the global automobile manufacturing industry, the number of imported car registrations in October decreased by about 23% compared to the previous year. In particular, Mercedes-Benz, which had consistently held the first place, dropped to second place, while BMW, which had been in second place, rose to first place.

The Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) announced on the 3rd that the number of newly registered imported passenger cars last month was 18,764 units. This is a decrease of 22.6% compared to the same period last year and 8.0% compared to the previous month. However, the cumulative registrations for this year reached 213,432 units, an increase of 8.1% compared to the same period last year.

By brand, BMW recorded 4,824 units, rising to first place. Mercedes-Benz fell to second place with 3,623 units. This is the first time this year that BMW has surpassed Mercedes-Benz in monthly sales volume to take first place. Other brands included Audi (2,639 units), which returned to third place, followed by Volvo (1,125 units), Jeep (750 units), Volkswagen (719 units), Mini (701 units), Lexus (656 units), Chevrolet (572 units), Honda (526 units), Toyota (521 units), Porsche (512 units), and Ford (502 units).

By engine displacement, registrations were as follows: under 2000cc with 10,915 units (58.2%), 2000cc to under 3000cc with 5,759 units (30.7%), 3000cc to under 4000cc with 1,361 units (7.3%), 4000cc and above with 208 units (1.1%), and others (electric vehicles) with 521 units (2.8%).

By country of origin, Europe accounted for 14,950 units (79.7%), the United States 2,111 units (11.3%), and Japan 1,703 units (9.1%). By fuel type, gasoline vehicles were 9,520 units (50.7%), hybrids 5,229 units (27.9%), plug-in hybrids 1,850 units (9.9%), diesel 1,644 units (8.8%), and electric vehicles 521 units (2.8%).

By purchase type, out of 18,764 units, individual purchases accounted for 11,942 units (63.6%) and corporate purchases for 6,822 units (36.4%). Among individual purchases, registrations by region were Gyeonggi with 3,865 units (32.4%), Seoul with 2,461 units (20.6%), and Busan with 710 units (5.9%). Among corporate purchases, registrations by region were Incheon with 2,436 units (35.7%), Busan with 1,617 units (23.7%), and Daegu with 840 units (12.3%).

Meanwhile, the best-selling models last month were the Audi A6 45 TFSI (851 units), Volkswagen Jetta 1.4 TSI (633 units), and BMW 520 (603 units). Im Han-gyu, Vice Chairman of KAIDA, explained, "The decrease in newly registered imported passenger cars in October compared to the previous month was due to supply shortages caused by some brands' lack of inventory and the semiconductor supply shortage."

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