The 'Hwangje' Sedan Is Me, Me... The Battle of Luxury Sedans Unfolds in the Second Half of the Year

Mercedes-Benz S-Class Tops Q1
Genesis G90 and BMW 7 Series Challenge

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] The competition among luxury sedans from Mercedes-Benz, Genesis, and BMW is expected to intensify in the domestic automobile market. While Mercedes-Benz’s ‘S-Class’ maintains its lead, the full-scale sales of Genesis’ ‘G90’ and the upcoming launch of BMW’s completely redesigned ‘7 Series’ in the second half of the year are anticipated.

According to Kaizyu Data Research Institute on the 2nd, the sales volume of the 7th generation S-Class in the first quarter (January to March) was 3,569 units, ranking first among luxury sedans. It was followed by the G90 with 2,977 units and the 7 Series with 590 units.

The S-Class is considered a traditional powerhouse in the luxury sedan segment. Since its first release in 1951, it has sold over 4 million units worldwide, making it a best-selling flagship sedan. The 7th generation fully redesigned S-Class was launched domestically in April last year, marking the first complete redesign in eight years. Since its release, it has consistently held the top spot in the large sedan market. From April to December last year, 9,935 units were sold, securing first place. During the same period, it overwhelmingly outperformed Genesis (3,475 units) and the 7 Series (1,927 units).

However, competition among luxury sedans is expected to become fierce in the second half of the year. Genesis unveiled the fully redesigned G90 in December last year. On the first day of pre-orders, it recorded 12,000 units. Vehicle deliveries began in January. Recently, sales have been remarkable. Although G90 sales were sluggish with 97 and 666 units sold in January and February respectively, they surged to 2,214 units in March, nearly doubling the S-Class’s 1,205 units.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

It is widely expected that sales will accelerate further. A long-wheelbase model with a 190mm longer overall length compared to the existing sedan is scheduled to be released this month. Domestically, there is still a trend of using domestic finished cars rather than overseas ones as executive vehicles. With the personnel season approaching in the second half of the year, more companies are expected to purchase the G90.

BMW, which has shown weakness in the luxury sedan competition, is expected to reignite the domestic market with the new 7 Series. The 7 Series is a flagship sedan first introduced in 1977. Last month, BMW unveiled the 7th generation fully redesigned New 7 Series for the first time. It has been seven years since the 6th generation was launched in 2015.

The New 7 Series is larger than the previous model, with an increase of 130mm in length, 48mm in width, and 51mm in height. It is notable for offering a variety of powertrains, including internal combustion engines, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and battery electric vehicles (BEV). The next-generation 7 Series and the pure electric model ‘i7’ are scheduled for official release in the domestic market in the second half of this year.

Industry experts expect fierce competition as all three brands begin full-scale sales of their completely redesigned models this year. An industry official explained, “This year marks the first year that the S-Class, G90, and 7 Series are all introduced domestically as fully redesigned models. As sales of luxury vehicles increase in Korea, competition among these companies is expected to intensify.”

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