Back-and-forth... Intensifying Competition for the Lead in the Imported Car Market

Mercedes-Benz and BMW Cumulative Sales Narrow Gap to 300 Units from January to August
Tesla Model Y Surprises with Top Spot Last Month

BMW Electric Vehicle i4

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Last month, BMW sold over 7,000 units domestically, securing the top spot among imported car brands for the third consecutive month since June. The competition for the best-selling imported car brand is intensifying between Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

According to data compiled by Kaizyu Data Research Institute based on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's vehicle registration status on the 3rd, 7,305 newly registered BMW vehicles were recorded last month. Mercedes-Benz followed with 5,943 units, Tesla with 3,153 units, and Audi with 2,311 units.

Looking at the cumulative number of new registrations from the beginning of this year through last month, Mercedes-Benz recorded 50,627 units, and BMW 50,349 units, forming a close race at the top. The difference between the two brands is less than 300 units, making it a situation where rankings can be reversed at any time.

Mercedes-Benz Electric Vehicle EQS Interior

From January to August this year, no domestic passenger car brand except Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis sold more than 50,000 units in the domestic market. SsangYong Motor barely exceeded 40,000 units.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz have been competing for the top two spots among imported car brands in Korea for several years. According to data from the Korea Imported Car Association, BMW held the number one position for 10 years from 2003 to 2015, except for about three years in the mid-2000s when Japanese brands like Lexus and Honda topped the charts.

In 2016, Mercedes-Benz took the lead. Since then, until last year, it solidified its number one position with annual differences ranging from 10,000 to over 30,000 units. This year, BMW has increased sales by launching new models across various segments.

Imported cars waiting for shipment at Pyeongtaek Port / Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

On a monthly basis, BMW was first and Mercedes-Benz second in January this year. From February, Mercedes-Benz took the lead for four consecutive months, with BMW in second place. Then from June to August, BMW regained the top spot, with Mercedes-Benz following.

Both brands offer a wide range of models. From last year to the present, BMW has sold about 120 models, and Mercedes-Benz about 100. This is a considerable number even compared to domestic automakers. The consistently best-selling Mercedes mid-size E-Class sold 19,014 units from January to August, followed by the BMW 5 Series with 12,519 units. The Mercedes large sedan S-Class, whose cheapest trim costs in the mid-100 million KRW range, had nearly 9,000 new registrations by last month.

Tesla Model 3 being manufactured at the Shanghai factory in China

Another notable point in the imported car market last month was that the Tesla Model Y topped sales by vehicle model, with 2,130 new registrations in just one month. For August alone, it surpassed both the E-Class and 5 Series. This indicates that a large quantity of recently imported vehicles was delivered to customers all at once.

Automakers, both domestic and international, have been facing production disruptions due to shortages of vehicle semiconductors and other parts, resulting in situations where customers wait months or even years after ordering a vehicle. Since many major brands have significant backlogs of orders, imported car sales volumes are also determined by the allocation of units from overseas headquarters.

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